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Total 100 articles, created at 2016-07-30 06:01 1 Yahoo Expands Content Marketing Offerings with Yahoo Storytellers
(1.00/1) Helps Brands and Agencies to and Distribute Content That Drives Engagement --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (NASDAQ:YHOO) announced today... 2016-07-30 05:20 4KB investor.yahoo.net 2 Yahoo Reports First Quarter 2016 Results "I'm pleased that we delivered Q1 results in line with our expectations. Our 2016 plan is off to a solid start as... (0.01/1) 2016-07-30 05:20 23KB investor.yahoo.net 3 Donald Trump makes nomination acceptance speech at RNC
(0.01/1) Donald Trump formally accepts the 2016 Republican nomination for president at the RNC on Thursday night. Trump said he will restore safety to the country in a time of crisis, citing recent terror attacks and violence towards law enforcement. He also emphasized themes of his campaign such... 2016-07-30 05:13 1KB www.cbsnews.com 4 Of the People Americans share their hopes, fears and frustrations in interviews from the campaign trail. 2016-07-30 06:00 1KB www.nytimes.com 5 'The days of apartheid are gone' – Pitso Mosimane Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane has fired a shot of disdain at the short-term thinking of PSL clubs who do not take continental competitions seriously. 2016-07-30 06:00 3KB www.timeslive.co.za 6 Russia rejects US criticism of weapons deployment to Crimea — RT Russian politics A senior Russian diplomat has dismissed US criticism over deploying weapons and forces to Crimea, saying the Russian Federation is absolutely free to protect its national security by moving forces anywhere on its territory. 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.rt.com 7 DA asks SCA to deny petitions from ‘Hlaudi and his band of protectors’ Hlaudi Motsoeneng “and his band of protectors now need to abandon this abuse of our judicial system and taxpayers’ money”‚ the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday. 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.timeslive.co.za
8 BBC, other MSM guilty of ‘clear & consistent bias’ against Corbyn, study finds — RT UK British news channels are blatantly biased against Jeremy Corbyn, giving far more airtime to commentators who openly criticize the Labour Party leader than those who support him, a second study of the phenomenon shows. 2016-07-30 06:00 3KB www.rt.com 9 Komphela prepared to sacrifice job to do what's right for Kaizer Chiefs Steve Komphela will do the right thing and continue attempting to implement the type of football he believes Kaizer Chiefs need to play to become a winning combination again‚ rather than trying to protect his own job. 2016-07-30 06:00 4KB www.timeslive.co.za 10 The reason Black Coffee was released from Spring Fiesta Black Coffee has been released as a headline act at the upcoming Spring Fiesta music festival in order for the DJ to chase a 'pivotal career opportunity', the event's organisers announced this week. 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.timeslive.co.za 11 DA irked by poor Madibeng’s offer to pay back the money for Zuma The Democratic Alliance (DA) wants President Jacob Zuma to provide PoPP – proof of personal payment. 2016-07-30 06:00 925Bytes www.timeslive.co.za 12 ‘The way Britain shares its wealth led to Brexit’ — RT UK Physics genius Stephen Hawking has called for a reassessment of how wealth is viewed in Britain in the wake of the UK’s vote to exit the European Union. 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.rt.com 13 US military giving back 17% of occupied Okinawa land to Japanese — RT News Citizens of Okinawa in Japan could be having their wishes fulfilled – at least 17 percent fulfilled, as that is the amount of land the United States military plans to transfer back to the island from its control, amid growing problems with its public image. 2016-07-30 06:00 3KB www.rt.com 14 Transfer-listed Xulu‚ Manqele‚ Mthembu set for Chiefs first team return Kaizer Chiefs’ three transfer-listed players are yet to receive offers from rival clubs‚ and they are showing “positive signs” that just might prolong their stay at the club‚ says Amakhosi football manager Bobby Motaung. 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.timeslive.co.za
15 Skyfall: Humvees airdropped from 5,000 feet by C-17 (VIDEO) — RT Viral A spectacular video showing a training airdrop of Humvee vehicles by a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport plane was published online. 2016-07-30 06:00 1010Bytes www.rt.com 16 Russia will seek Ukraine foreign assets freeze if $3bn debt not repaid — RT Business Moscow may file a case seeking to freeze Ukrainian assets abroad if Kiev continues to refuse to pay back the $3 billion debt to Russia, says a source close the presidential administration cited by Izvestia daily. 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.rt.com 17 Fransman miffed about learning his ‘sexual harassment’ fate via the media African National Congress (ANC) leader in the Western Cape Marius Fransman is outraged at the way his own party’s integrity committee handled a complaint of sexual harassment against him. 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.timeslive.co.za 18 Alcohol crackdown at UK airports after boozy Brits wreak havoc — RT UK Britain’s new aviation minister has pledged a crackdown on alcohol sales at airports after dozens of drunken Brits caused havoc on flights, with one man allegedly drinking a whole bottle of vodka before abusing fellow passengers. 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.rt.com 19 Lack of Parliament antics sees EFF’s media profile dip: survey The African National Congress (ANC) saw an uptick in its media profile‚ but for the wrong reason. 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.timeslive.co.za 20 Russia may supply components for Iranian satellites — RT Business Components for Iranian satellites may be produced by Russia’s Roscosmos space corporation, said Russian Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov after meeting with Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Vaezi in Moscow. 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.rt.com 21 The stats favour the Lions in their Super Rugby semifinal‚ but… Statistically the Lions have an advantage over the Highlanders going in to their Super Rugby semifinal on Saturday‚ but so often stats winners are losers on the field. 2016-07-30 06:00 3KB www.timeslive.co.za
22 Cech trusts Wenger to buy right players for Arsenal tilt Goalkeeper Petr Cech expects manager Arsene Wenger to bring in the right players necessary to improve Arsenal's bid to win a first Premier League title since 2004 without wasting money on panic buys. 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.timeslive.co.za 23 Firearms used on only 7 occasions by British police over 12 month period — RT UK Official records show British firearms police collectively only discharged their weapons on seven occasions in the space of 12 months. The news comes as it emerged armed police numbers have seriously dwindled under Tory rule despite the ‘severe’ terrorism threat. 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.rt.com 24 US-trained Afghan forces keep losing territory to Taliban – US govt report — RT News The NATO-trained Afghan military only controls about two-thirds of Afghanistan’s districts and keeps losing territory to the Taliban, despite billions of dollars in US investment and efforts to train a capable national army, an internal US report found. 2016-07-30 06:00 3KB www.rt.com 25 Apollo astronauts 5 times more likely to die from heart disease, says study — RT America The first study of Apollo astronauts - the only people to have traveled beyond Earth’s protective magnetic shield - has found that those who ventured to the moon are five times more likely to die from heart disease. 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.rt.com 26 Parliament hopes CCMA ruling will ‘close chapter of negative engagement’ with Nehawu Parliament said it had been vindicated by the Council for Conciliation‚ Mediation and Arbitration’s (CCMA) dismissal of the National Education Health and Workers’ Union’s (Nehawu) “application in relation to the payment of bonuses in 2015”. 2016-07-30 06:00 3KB www.timeslive.co.za 27 Kaizer, Iron Duke show maturity Latest news from South Africa, World, Politics, Entertainment and Lifestyle. The home of The Times and Sunday Times newspaper. 2016-07-30 06:00 3KB www.timeslive.co.za
28 Zamalek Downed It was a cruel twist of fate for the visitors but deserved stroke of luck for hosts 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.timeslive.co.za 29 Local Detroiter speaks at DNC convention about raising the minimum wage The Democratic National Convention has wrapped up and one of the speakers to hit the stage in Philadelphia is from the Motor City. 2016-07-30 06:00 1KB www.wxyz.com 30 Essential Arts & Culture: DNC set design, L. A.'s public art biennial, a ballet star in 'A Chorus Line' Summer is supposed to be a sleepy time for the arts. Not in 2016! The week has produced intriguing stories on everything from convention architecture to a notable woman conductor to L. A.’s new public art biennial. I’m Carolina A. Miranda , staff writer at... 2016-07-30 06:00 1KB www.latimes.com 31 7.7-magnitude quake off Northern Marianas; no tsunami alert WASHINGTON—A strong but deep 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the Northern Mariana Islands in the western Pacific on Saturday, but triggered no tsunami alert, US monitors said. The quake 2016-07-30 06:00 1KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 32 One cop killed, one wounded in San Diego shooting WASHINGTON—A police officer died and another was wounded in a shooting at a traffic stop in San Diego, police said Friday. A Hispanic man was later taken into custody, San Diego police 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 33 Duterte vows: Constitutional changes to be pro-Filipino DAVAO CITY – President Duterte has vowed to make sure that changes in the Constitution will be responsive to the will of the people. “I will not allow a Constitution that is 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 34 Signal No. 1 up in 7 areas as ‘Carina’ accelerates Tropical depression ‘Carina’ has slightly picked up speed as it continued its northwest track, the state weather bureau said Saturday morning. In its weather bulletin released at 8 2016-07-30 06:00 1KB newsinfo.inquirer.net
35 Survivor JP has seen it all, at just 33 Super rugby semifinalists the Lions have proved an irresistible force on attack but few have recognised their ability to stop the opposition in their tracks this season. 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.timeslive.co.za 36 Road rage killer arrives in Manila The man seen shooting to death a biker in Manila on Monday night has arrived at the Manila Police headquarters on Saturday morning. Vhon Tanto arrived a few minutes before 7 a.m. Supt. 2016-07-30 06:00 1KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 37 No clarity on Narsingh Yadav's dope case verdict date A day after Narsingh Yadav's dope scandal hearing got over, there was no clarity today over when the NADA's Anti-Doping Disciplinary Penal will announce its final verdict, which will decide the wrestler's Rio Olympics fate 2016-07-30 06:00 3KB www.mid- day.com 38 Potholes issue: BMC tells HC engineers getting abusive calls BMC today informed the Bombay High Court that it has decided to withdraw the advertisements displaying the mobile numbers of its engineers for people to lodge complaints of potholes as the officers have been hounded with 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.mid- day.com 39 Sheena Bora case: Court rejects Sanjeev Khanna's bail plea A special CBI court today rejected the bail application of Sanjeev Khanna, one of the accused in the sensational Sheena Bora murder case 2016-07-30 06:00 2KB www.mid-day.com 40 Mumbai-based merchant relieved of diamond, one held A Mumbai-based diamond merchant was relieved of a 11-carat diamond worth about Rs 2.75 lakh by two men under the pretext of 2016-07-30 06:00 1KB www.mid-day.com 41 Now, a bus tour for city cricket fans Aiming to represent the city's rich cricket culture, former Test cricketer Yajurvindra Singh is set to organise the country's first heritage tour scheduled to held in Mumbai on August 14 2016-07-30 06:00 1KB www.mid-day.com
42 Airport complaints hotline eyed The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) will set up a hotline to ensure instant response to passenger complaints at the country’s premier airport. MIAA general manager Ed Monreal 2016-07-30 05:52 3KB globalnation.inquirer.net 43 3 months for a passport appointment? Here’s why MALVAR, BATANGAS—Ever wonder why it takes two to three months to schedule a passport application appointment online? APO Production Unit Inc., the government-owned printing facility, has 2016-07-30 05:51 3KB globalnation.inquirer.net 44 Hopes high for Senate, CHR probes of killings The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday expressed hope that the investigation by the Senate and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) into the rise of drug-related killings would help put 2016-07-30 05:50 3KB globalnation.inquirer.net 45 Teachers group gathers signatures vs lesson logs Teachers’ groups from Metro Manila and neighboring provinces said they would troop to the Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday and submit a petition with at least 50,000 signatures asking 2016-07-30 05:48 3KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 46 Venezuela Implements Serfdom To Cope With Food Shortages In a desperate effort to cope with worsening food shortages, the government of Venezuela has approved a new law that allows the government to force citizens into agricultural labor. According to Vi 2016-07-30 05:43 3KB dailycaller.com 47 NYC Official Took Food Stamps For Bribes Former New York City social services official Harry Fletcher will spend three years behind bars for giving food stamp benefits to ineligible people in exchange for bribes, according to the Department 2016-07-30 05:43 2KB dailycaller.com 48 MS-13 Just Got Hit Hard By The Police Salvadoran police walloped Transnational criminal organization (TCO) MS-13 by picking up five of the group's top operatives Thursday, including its money man who pretends to be an Evangelical pastor 2016-07-30 05:42 2KB dailycaller.com 49 The Great Smyrna Fire Mike Scruggs 2 posts 2016-07-30 05:18 11KB www.thetribunepapers.com 50 UN Security Council agrees to send police to Burundi The UN Security Council authorises the deployment of a UN police force to Burundi to try to quell violence and human rights abuses. 2016-07-30 05:24 1KB www.bbc.co.uk 51 Why young Africans are swapping the office for the farm Farming is seen as an unglamorous job across Africa, but the BBC's Sophie Ikenye finds some young professionals who are packing in the office job to return to the family farm. 2016-07-30 05:24 4KB www.bbc.co.uk 52 Online Payments Get bank-beating exchange rates when you send money overseas, typically 3-4% better than the banks. Fast & secure international money transfer from CNN. 2016-07-30 05:23 760Bytes www.cnnmoneytransfers.com 53 Arrest of Egypt FGM doctor Raslan Fadl welcomed Campaigners welcome the arrest of Egypt's first doctor to have been convicted of carrying out female genital mutilation (FGM). 2016-07-30 05:23 2KB www.bbc.co.uk 54 Are female leaders disadvantaged by media bias? The media more often focuses on what women wear and their family status, but does that hurt the public's perception of their leadership? 2016-07-30 05:24 5KB www.bbc.co.uk 55 'God forgot Afghanistan' Hundreds of thousands of tweets condemn the attack on an Afghan minority group by Islamic State militants. 2016-07-30 05:24 3KB www.bbc.co.uk 56 San Diego policeman shot dead A police officer dies and another remains in hospital after both were shot in the US city of San Diego. 2016-07-30 05:24 1KB www.bbc.co.uk 57 In Pictures: Watching Hillary Clinton make history Hilary Clinton has become the first woman ever to become a majory party nominee for US president. The BBC travelled to the Women's National Democratic Club, founded in Washington DC in 1922, to capture the scene. 2016-07-30 05:24 4KB www.bbc.co.uk
58 Ottawa funeral after police arrest row Hundreds of people attend the funeral of a mentally ill black man in Ottawa who died following a confrontation with Canadian police. 2016-07-30 05:24 1KB www.bbc.co.uk 59 Australia plans new co-ordinates to fix sat- nav gap Australia is to shift its longitude and latitude to address a gap between local co-ordinates and those from global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). 2016-07-30 05:24 2KB www.bbc.co.uk 60 Folkmoot Festival Events in Asheville KMorgan 1346 posts 2016-07-30 05:24 2KB www.thetribunepapers.com
61 Tokyo's ill-tempered election Tokyo is preparing to vote for its next governor, one of the biggest jobs in Japan, but the campaign has been marred by insults and allegations of sexism. 2016-07-30 05:23 4KB www.bbc.co.uk 62 Dusseldorf residents told to pay for Nazi- era road Court rules that homeowners must foot the bill for suburban Dusseldorf street first built in 1937. 2016-07-30 05:23 2KB www.bbc.co.uk 63 Yahoo Appoints IMS as Sales Partner in Spanish-Speaking Latin America --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (NASDAQ:YHOO) has appointed (IMS), a joint venture with and a leading... 2016-07-30 05:20 2KB investor.yahoo.net 64 Siberian heatwave releases anthrax bacillus frozen for decades Map of region. Red marker points to the location of Russia's Yamalo-Nenets autonomous district. 2016-07-30 05:17 714Bytes www.digitaljournal.com 65 BBC News Channel Britain's most-watched news channel, delivering breaking news and analysis all day, every day. 2016-07-30 05:07 679Bytes www.bbc.co.uk
66 IS executes 24 civilians after seizing Syria village The Islamic State jihadist group has executed at least 24 civilians after seizing a village in northern Syria from a US-backed Kurdish- Arab alliance... 2016-07-30 05:07 1KB www.digitaljournal.com 67 Yahoo to Live Stream Video of Second Quarter 2016 Earnings on Yahoo Finance on July 18, 2016 --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (NASDAQ:YHOO) will discuss the Company's financial results for the second quarter ended via... 2016-07-30 05:07 1KB investor.yahoo.net 68 Trump’s Darkest and ‘Most Brilliant’ Hour Donald Trump claims to be the one person who can avert the certainty of impending doom. “Nobody knows the system better than me,”... 2016-07-30 05:00 6KB spectator.org 69 A Thought on The Hacking of Hillary With the FBI now investigating the hacking of Hillary Clinton’s campaign as well as the DCCC, I have but one question. Could it... 2016-07-30 05:00 610Bytes spectator.org 70 Russians to vote on covering up Michelangelo's David A woman complains that the copy of the artist's David harms children's minds. 2016-07-30 05:00 2KB www.bbc.co.uk 71 US election 2016: Onward from the conventions What have the conventions revealed about the two main US presidential candidates and what should we expect next? 2016-07-30 05:09 4KB www.bbc.co.uk 72 Premiers past: What now for Cameron? What they did next - the futures of prime ministers past 2016-07-30 05:10 10KB www.bbc.co.uk 73 10 things we didn't know last week The most heavy metal word in the English language and other news nuggets. 2016-07-30 05:09 1KB www.bbc.co.uk 74 SC delegates' view of Katy Perry at the DNC South Carolina delegates had some fun at the last night of the Democratic National Convention, when they were treated to a Katy Perry concert. 2016-07-30 05:07 3KB www.heraldonline.com
75 VIDEO: Puyallup police show a softer side Officer Mark Ketter of the Puyallup Police Department reads to children during the Puyallup Public Library's Superheroes at Storytime event. 2016-07-30 05:08 2KB www.thenewstribune.com 76 Online child sex abuse investigation identifies 523 potential victims More than 500 children are identified and 77 people charged as part of a Police Scotland investigation into online child abuse. 2016-07-30 05:05 4KB www.bbc.co.uk 77 Trevor Gray: Wife's battle to clear wrongly jailed detective's name A High Court judge has said a police force was wrong not to reinstate a former detective wrongly jailed for raping a woman in 2011. His wife told BBC News how her family won a five-year, £150,000 battle to clear his name. 2016-07-30 05:09 4KB www.bbc.co.uk 78 Diabetes is no laughing matter, say young sufferers Young women with type 1 diabetes talk about the misunderstanding around the disease. 2016-07-30 05:09 4KB www.bbc.co.uk 79 UN humanitarian convoy in Nigeria ambushed by Boko Haram A United Nations humanitarian convoy was ambushed by Boko Haram jihadists Thursday in Nigeria's restive northeast, leaving several people wounded, the UN... 2016-07-30 05:08 3KB www.digitaljournal.com 80 Morgan Freeman steals spotlight at DNC — RT America The last night of the Democratic National Convention was meant to highlight the accomplishments of Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton, but Morgan Freeman managed to steal the show without even being in the room. 2016-07-30 05:08 1KB www.rt.com 81 ‘Traitor cemetery,’ ‘birthplace toilet’ & other unconventional retaliation after failed Turkey coup — RT News Supporters of Turkish President Erdogan have been quite inventive in proposing means to “punish” the alleged perpetrators and plotters of Turkey’s failed coup attempt, as Ankara widens its crackdown, arresting or sacking tens of thousands of people. 2016-07-30 05:08 4KB www.rt.com
82 In pictures: The beauty of the skies A selection of some of the images shortlisted in the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 contest. 2016-07-30 05:08 2KB www.bbc.co.uk 83 Rev. William Barber: Be ‘the moral defibrillators of our time’ Rev. William Barber gave a fiery speech in support of Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday. The North Carolina NAACP and Moral Monday leader called on Americans to be the ‘the moral defibrillators of our time' in a primetime speech on the final night... 2016-07-30 05:07 3KB www.charlotteobserver.com 84 Shuttle Endeavour lands at California air base Space shuttle Endeavour landed safely Sunday afternoon at California's Edwards Air Force Base after NASA waved off two opportunities for a Florida landing because of poor weather. 2016-07-30 05:03 3KB rss.cnn.com 85 Prince death: Judge snubs claims by 29 would-be heirs A judge in the US state of Minnesota dismisses claims by 29 people who said they were Prince's heirs, including five men who said they were his father. 2016-07-30 05:04 2KB www.bbc.co.uk 86 David Bowie honoured at BBC Proms The life and music of David Bowie are honoured at an eclectic, late-night edition of the BBC Proms. 2016-07-30 05:02 3KB www.bbc.co.uk 87 How to avoid a holiday disaster when travelling with young children Five ways to avoid a holiday disaster when travelling with children. 2016-07-30 05:01 5KB www.bbc.co.uk 88 WBTV First Alert Weather forecast for 07.29.16 WBTV meteorologist Lyndsay Tapases with The Charlotte Observer weather forecast for July 29, 2016. 2016-07-30 05:01 1KB www.charlotteobserver.com
89 Booze ban for China region's civil servants No more lunchtime tipples for government employees in Anhui province. 2016-07-30 05:01 2KB www.bbc.co.uk 90 Ex-Guatemala football chief Jimenez pleads guilty to bribes Brayan Jimenez, a former head of Guatemala's football federation, pleads guilty in a US court to racketeering and wire fraud. 2016-07-30 05:01 1KB www.bbc.co.uk 91 17 secret ways to save on your next hotel stay Don't let a hotel room eat up your travel budget -- use these tips to save money on your next trip 2016-07-30 05:01 7KB www.cbsnews.com 92 The American Spectator “So how many times have you hiked Red Rocks, Jerry?” I asked. He laughed, exhaling a puff of smoke from a... 2016-07-30 05:01 5KB spectator.org 93 Syria conflict: Deadly strike on Save the Children maternity hospital An air strike hits a maternity hospital supported by Save the Children in north-western Syria, killing two people and wounding three others. 2016-07-30 05:01 4KB www.bbc.co.uk 94 RBS performs poorly in stress tests RBS Group performed poorly in the latest European stress tests which assess how the banks might perform in adverse economic conditions. 2016-07-30 04:59 4KB www.bbc.co.uk 95 Iraq violence: Did IS use new type of bomb for deadliest attack? Growing evidence suggests so-called Islamic State used a new type of explosive device when they killed almost 300 people in Baghdad earlier this month. 2016-07-30 04:59 6KB www.bbc.co.uk 96 Verizon to acquire Yahoo's operating business BASKING RIDGE, N. J... 2016-07-30 04:42 16KB investor.yahoo.net 97 Clearing Germany's migrant backlog As Angela Merkel defends Germany's policy on refugees, Chris Bowlby is given unique access to a new fast-track migrant processing centre in Bonn. 2016-07-30 04:07 7KB www.bbc.co.uk
98 Bikini-clad Swedish policewoman 'stops thief' A bikini-clad Swedish police officer wins praise for tackling a suspected thief while she was off-duty sunbathing with friends in Stockholm. 2016-07-30 04:07 1KB www.bbc.co.uk 99 Testing times for Europe's banks The results of European bank "stress tests" have been announced, with the aim of establishing how well the banks could cope with a new financial shock. 2016-07-30 04:07 6KB www.bbc.co.uk 100 What is the named person scheme? What is it the Scottish government's named person scheme, and why is it so controversial? 2016-07-30 04:07 6KB www.bbc.co.uk Articles
Total 100 articles, created at 2016-07-30 06:01
1 Yahoo Expands Content Marketing Offerings with Yahoo Storytellers (1.00/1) Helps Brands and Agencies to and Distribute Content That Drives Engagement --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (NASDAQ:YHOO) announced today the launch of Storytellers, a full service content marketing studio for brands and agencies that leverages Yahoo's editorial expertise, extensive data, and native advertising through Yahoo Gemini. Now marketers can leverage Yahoo Storytellers to successfully develop, distribute and measure premium branded content that meets consumers' high expectations and drives engagement. "Content marketing continues to be an area of growth for brands and agencies, but they need a better way to create compelling content that's informed by data and reaches the right audience. That's where Storytellers comes in," said , Chief Revenue Officer,. "At Yahoo we're focused on bringing our users the best content available online across our news, sports, finance and lifestyle verticals, and now we're helping our advertisers develop branded content that is even more effective and data-driven. " Yahoo Storytellers offers advertisers a full suite of capabilities to build successful content marketing strategies, including: content consulting services and curriculum-based workshops, development of premium video and a full range of editorial content, influencer activations across social platforms, and partnership extensions. Yahoo Storytellers is based on the powerful combination of content, data and technology. With more than 165 billion daily data signals, helps brands identify consumer insights and inform what type of content opportunities they should pursue to reach their target audience. Yahoo's custom content studio produces premium content for brands, by tapping into leading journalists and -pedigree creators. Yahoo is partnering with top creators including , Endemol Shine Beyond, and many others. With Yahoo's full suite of ad formats and technology platforms, especially native advertising through Yahoo Gemini and content platforms like , brands can deliver engaging content at scale to the right audience and in the most relevant environment. "As one of the original digital storytellers, Yahoo's history in identifying opportunities and creating dynamic stories for brands and audiences alike is extraordinary," said , President,. "We are thrilled to leverage our expertise as a global production company in partnership with to bring relevant stories to the right audiences across platform. " Brands including Dasani, , JetBlue and many others have partnered with on content marketing efforts. JetBlue worked with on a recent content marketing effort that resulted in over 3 million views of their native video ads, 31 million social media impressions, and 27% of people who viewed the JetBlue posts engaging with them. "Working with , we have been able to give people a new way to experience our brand, while driving meaningful results," said , head of brand marketing,. "We look forward to working with Yahoo Storytellers to further develop content that will be useful and engaging to consumers. " is a guide to digital information discovery, focused on informing, connecting, and entertaining users through its search, communications, and digital content products. By creating highly personalized experiences, helps users discover the information that matters most to them around the world -- on mobile or desktop. connects advertisers with target audiences through a streamlined advertising technology stack that combines the power of data, content, and technology. is headquartered in , and has offices located throughout the , (APAC) and the , and (EMEA) regions. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net) or the Company's blog (yahoo.tumblr.com). and Yahoo Finance are the trademarks and/or registered trademarks of All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Yahoo Announces Editorial Plans for 2016 Summer Games investor.yahoo.net 2016-07-30 05:20 investor.yahoo.net
2 Yahoo Reports First Quarter 2016 Results (0.01/1) "I'm pleased that we delivered Q1 results in line with our expectations. Our 2016 plan is off to a solid start as we continue to focus on driving efficiency, lowering costs, and improving long-term growth," said , CEO of. "In tandem, we made substantial progress towards potential strategic alternatives for. Our board, our management team, and I are completely aligned on this top priority for shareholders. " Mavens revenue represented 33 percent of traffic-driven revenue in the first quarter of 2015, and increased to 38 percent in the first quarter of 2016. Mobile revenue represented 21 percent of traffic-driven revenue in the first quarter of 2015, and increased to 25 percent in the first quarter of 2016. Gross mobile revenue for the first quarter of 2015 and 2016 was and , respectively. "We delivered financial results at the high end or above our guidance ranges. We also achieved free cash flow of through improved working capital efficiencies, excellent cost controls, reduced capital expenditures and a large tax refund," said , CFO of. "While we remain focused on the strategic alternatives process as a top priority, our employees showed their determination and commitment to by executing on our operating plan. " will live stream a video broadcast of the Company's first quarter 2016 financial results at / today. The live stream will be broadcast from Yahoo's studio and will be available exclusively on Yahoo Finance at finance.yahoo.com. The Company will provide its business outlook for the second quarter and full year of 2016 during the presentation. Supplemental financial information can be accessed through the Company's Investor Relations website at investor.yahoo.net. The video will be archived after the event at investor.yahoo.net and will be available for 90 days following the broadcast. This press release and its attachments include the following financial measures defined as non-GAAP financial measures by the ("SEC"): gross mobile revenue; gross search revenue; revenue ex-TAC; adjusted EBITDA; non-GAAP income from operations; non-GAAP net earnings; non-GAAP net earnings per share - diluted; and free cash flow. Gross mobile revenue is GAAP mobile revenue plus the related revenue share with third parties. Gross search revenue is GAAP search revenue plus the related revenue share with third parties. Revenue ex-TAC is GAAP revenue less cost of revenue - TAC. Adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP income from operations, non-GAAP net earnings and non-GAAP net earnings per share - diluted, exclude from the most comparable GAAP financial measures certain gains, losses, and expenses that we do not believe are indicative of ongoing results, and exclude stock-based compensation expense. Adjusted EBITDA also excludes taxes, depreciation, amortization of intangible assets, other expense, net (which includes interest), earnings in equity interests, and net income attributable to noncontrolling interests. Free cash flow is GAAP net cash provided by operating activities (adjusted to include excess tax benefits from stock-based awards), less acquisition of property and equipment, net (i.e., acquisition of property and equipment less proceeds received from disposition of property and equipment) and dividends received from equity investees. These measures may be different than non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). Explanations of the Company's non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations of these financial measures to the GAAP financial measures the Company considers most comparable are included in the accompanying "Note to Supplemental Financial Data and GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations," "Supplemental Financial Data and GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations," and "GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations. " is a guide to digital information discovery, focused on informing, connecting, and entertaining users through its search, communications, and digital content products. By creating highly personalized experiences, helps users discover the information that matters most to them around the world -- on mobile or desktop. creates value for advertisers with a streamlined, simple advertising technology stack that leverages Yahoo's data, content, and technology to connect advertisers with their target audiences. is headquartered in , and has offices located throughout the , (APAC) and the , and (EMEA) regions. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net) or the Company's blog (yahoo.tumblr.com). "Ads Sold" consist of display ad impressions for paying advertisers on and Affiliate sites. "Affiliates" refers to the third-party entities that have integrated Yahoo's advertising offerings into their websites or other offerings (those websites and other offerings, "Affiliate sites"). "Alibaba Group" means Alibaba Group Holding Limited. In , Alibaba Group completed its initial public offering of American Depositary Shares ("ADS"), in which was a selling shareholder. "Desktop computer" means a desktop or laptop computer, and "desktop revenue" is revenue generated from search and display ads served on desktop computers and also includes leads, listings and fees revenue and ecommerce revenue allocated to user activity on desktop computers. "Gross mobile revenue," a non-GAAP measure, is GAAP mobile revenue plus the related revenue share with third parties. "Gross search revenue," a non-GAAP measure, is GAAP search revenue plus the related revenue share with third parties. "Mavens revenue" is revenue generated from, without duplication: (i) mobile (as defined below), (ii) video ads and video ad packages, (iii) native ads, and (iv) and Polyvore ads and fees. "Mobile revenue" is revenue generated in connection with user activity on mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, regardless of whether the device is accessing a mobile-optimized service. Mobile revenue is generated primarily from search and display ads. Mobile revenue also includes leads, listings and fees revenue and ecommerce revenue allocated to user activity on mobile devices. "Native revenue" is revenue generated from native ads (search and display) on as well as third-party partner publisher sites and mobile apps. Native ads are visually rich, are positioned as a seamless part of the users' experience, and come in a variety of formats, like text, image, and video. offers native ads through Yahoo Gemini and the BrightRoll Demand-Side Platform (DSP). "Net earnings" means net income (loss) attributable to , and "net earnings per diluted share" means net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders per share - diluted. "Non-Mavens revenue" is revenue generated from search ads and traditional (i.e., non-native, non-video, non- , non-Polyvore) display ads served on desktop computers and also includes leads, listings and fees revenue and ecommerce revenue allocated to user activity on desktop computers. "Non-traffic-driven revenue" is revenue not arising from user activity on or Affiliate sites, and includes royalty revenue, license fee revenue, amortization under the technology and intellectual property license agreement with Alibaba Group through the third quarter of 2015, and all other revenue that is not traffic-driven. "Paid Clicks" are clicks by end-users on sponsored search listings (excluding native ads) on and Affiliate sites. "Price-per-Ad" is defined as display revenue divided by our total number of Ads Sold. "Price-per-Click" is defined as Search click-driven revenue divided by our total number of Paid Clicks. "Search Agreement" refers to the Search and Advertising Services and Sales Agreement between and Microsoft Corporation, as amended. "Search click-driven revenue" is gross search revenue excluding the Microsoft RPS guarantee and search revenue from Yahoo Japan. "TAC" refers to traffic acquisition costs. TAC consists of payments to Affiliates and payments made to companies that direct consumer and business traffic to. "Yahoo," "Company," and "we" refer to and its consolidated subsidiaries. "Yahoo Properties" refers to the online properties and services that provides to users. We periodically review, refine and update our methodologies for monitoring, gathering, and counting number of Ads Sold and Paid Clicks, and for calculating Search click-driven revenue, Price-per-Ad, and Price- per-Click. Additional information about how "Ads Sold," "Paid Clicks," "Price-per-Ad," "Price-per-Click," and "Search click-driven revenue" are defined and calculated is included under the caption "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended , which is on file with the and available on the website at www.sec.gov. This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning expected financial performance and strategic and operational plans (including, without limitation, the quotations from management). Risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ materially from the results predicted, and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks related to Yahoo's ability to continue to attract and maintain mobile users and grow its mobile revenue; risks related to Yahoo's ability to continue to grow the Mavens revenue; risks related to Yahoo's ability to grow users, user engagement and pageviews; risks related to growing advertiser engagement; risk of potential reduction in spending by, or loss of, advertising customers; risks associated with the Search Agreement with Microsoft Corporation and the Services Agreement with ; risks related to Yahoo's ability to provide innovative search experiences and other products and services that differentiate its services and generate significant traffic; risks associated with Yahoo's ability to manage its operating expenses effectively and improve profitability; risks related to acceptance by users of new products and services; risks related to Yahoo's ability to compete with new or existing competitors; dependence on third parties for technology, services, content, and distribution; risks related to acquiring or developing compelling content; security breaches; interruptions or delays in the provision of Yahoo's services; adverse results in litigation; risks related to Yahoo's ability to recruit and retain key personnel; risks related to possible impairment of goodwill or other assets; risks related to Yahoo's ability to protect its intellectual property and the value of its brands; risks related to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; risks related to joint ventures and the integration of acquisitions; risks related to Yahoo's regulatory environment; risks related to international operations; risks related to the calculation of our key operational metrics; and general economic conditions. With respect to Yahoo's exploration of strategic alternatives, there is no assurance any transaction will be consummated, and the process of exploring strategic alternatives will involve the dedication of significant resources and the incurrence of significant costs and expenses. All information set forth in this press release and its attachments is as of. does not intend, and undertakes no duty, to update this information to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. More information about potential factors that could affect the Company's business and financial results is included under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended , which is on file with the and available on the website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will also be set forth in those sections in Yahoo's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended , which will be filed with the in the second quarter of 2016. !, the family of marks, Flurry and Flurry Analytics, and the associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of is a registered trademark of Other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Note to Supplemental Financial Data and GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations This press release and its attachments include the non-GAAP financial measures of revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs ("revenue ex-TAC"); gross mobile revenue; gross search revenue; adjusted EBITDA; non-GAAP income from operations; non-GAAP net earnings; non-GAAP net earnings per diluted share; and free cash flow, which are reconciled to revenue (in the case of revenue ex-TAC, gross mobile revenue, and gross search revenue); net income (loss) attributable to (in the case of adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net earnings); income (loss) from operations; net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders per share - diluted; and net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, which we believe are the most comparable GAAP measures. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "Yahoo," the "Company," or "we") uses these non-GAAP financial measures for internal managerial purposes and to facilitate period-to- period comparisons. We describe limitations specific to each non-GAAP financial measure below. Management generally compensates for limitations in the use of non-GAAP financial measures by relying on comparable GAAP financial measures and providing investors with a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure or measures. Further, management uses non-GAAP financial measures only in addition to and in conjunction with results presented in accordance with GAAP. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures reflect additional ways of viewing aspects of our operations that, when viewed with our GAAP results, provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our business. These non-GAAP measures should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, revenue, net income (loss) attributable to , income (loss) from operations, net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders per share - diluted, and net cash provided by (used in) operating activities calculated in accordance with GAAP. Revenue ex-TAC is a non-GAAP financial measure defined as GAAP revenue less TAC that has been recorded as a cost of revenue. TAC consists of payments made to Affiliates, and payments made to companies that direct consumer and business traffic to. TAC is recorded either as a reduction of revenue or as cost of revenue. We present revenue ex-TAC to provide investors a metric used by the Company for evaluation and decision-making purposes and to provide investors with comparable revenue numbers when comparing to our historical reported financial information. A limitation of revenue ex-TAC is that it is a measure we defined for internal and investor purposes that may be unique to the Company, and therefore it may not enhance the comparability of our results to those of other companies in our industry who have similar business arrangements but address the impact of TAC differently. Management compensates for these limitations by also relying on the comparable GAAP financial measures of revenue and cost of revenue—TAC. Each of gross mobile revenue and gross search revenue is a non-GAAP financial measure. Gross mobile revenue is defined as GAAP mobile revenue plus the related revenue share with third parties. Gross search revenue is defined as GAAP search revenue plus the related revenue share with third parties. We present these amounts to provide investors with additional metrics used by the Company for evaluation and decision- making purposes and as an indicator of the size of our presence in the relevant business. To this end, gross mobile revenue and gross search revenue report the total receipts generated on and Affiliate sites by the specified relevant business (i.e., mobile or search), before any TAC or other revenue share is paid to the Affiliates and before any revenue share is allocated to Microsoft or other parties. A limitation of these non-GAAP measures is that they include revenue that is recognized by one or more third parties and not by Yahoo; furthermore, they are measures we defined for internal and investor purposes that may be unique to us, and therefore may not enhance the comparability of our results to those of other companies in our industry who have similar business arrangements but address the impact of TAC and revenue sharing differently. Management compensates for these limitations by also relying on the comparable financial measure GAAP revenue. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) attributable to before taxes, depreciation, amortization of intangible assets, stock-based compensation expense, other expense, net (which includes interest), earnings in equity interests, net income attributable to noncontrolling interests and other gains, losses, and expenses that we do not believe are indicative of our ongoing results. We present adjusted EBITDA because the exclusion of certain gains, losses, and expenses facilitates comparisons of the operating performance of the Company on a period to period basis. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results reported under GAAP. These limitations include: adjusted EBITDA does not reflect tax payments and such payments reflect a reduction in cash available to us; adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenues in our businesses; adjusted EBITDA does not include stock-based compensation expense related to the Company's workforce; adjusted EBITDA also excludes other expense, net (which includes interest), earnings in equity interests, net income attributable to noncontrolling interests and other gains, losses, and expenses that we do not believe are indicative of our ongoing results, and these items may represent a reduction or increase in cash available to us; and adjusted EBITDA is a measure that may be unique to the Company, and therefore it may not enhance the comparability of our results to other companies in our industry. Management compensates for these limitations by also relying on the comparable GAAP financial measure of net income (loss) attributable to , which includes taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation expense, other expense, net (which includes interest), earnings in equity interests, net income attributable to noncontrolling interests and the other gains, losses and expenses that are excluded from adjusted EBITDA. Non-GAAP income from operations is defined as income (loss) from operations excluding certain gains, losses, and expenses that we do not believe are indicative of our ongoing operating results and further adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation expense. Because of the variety of equity awards used by companies, the varying methodologies for determining stock-based compensation expense, and the subjective assumptions involved in those determinations, we believe excluding stock- based compensation expense enhances the ability of management and investors to understand the impact of stock-based compensation expense on income (loss) from operations. We consider non-GAAP income from operations to be a profitability measure which facilitates the forecasting of our operating results for future periods and allows for the comparison of our results to historical periods. A limitation of non-GAAP income from operations is that it does not include all items that impact our income from operations for the period. Management compensates for this limitation by also relying on the comparable GAAP financial measure of income (loss) from operations which includes the gains, losses, and expenses that are excluded from non-GAAP income from operations. Non-GAAP net earnings is defined as net income (loss) attributable to (which we sometimes refer to as net earnings) excluding certain gains, losses, expenses, and their related tax effects that we do not believe are indicative of our ongoing results and further adjusted to exclude stock- based compensation expense and its related tax effects. Because of the variety of equity awards used by companies, the varying methodologies for determining stock-based compensation expense, and the subjective assumptions involved in those determinations, we believe excluding stock- based compensation expense enhances the ability of management and investors to understand the impact of stock-based compensation expense on net income and net income per share. We consider non-GAAP net earnings and non-GAAP net earnings per diluted share to be profitability measures which facilitate the forecasting of our results for future periods and allow for the comparison of our results to historical periods. A limitation of non-GAAP net earnings and non-GAAP net earnings per diluted share is that they do not include all items that impact our net income and net income per diluted share for the period. Management compensates for this limitation by also relying on the comparable GAAP financial measures of net income (loss) attributable to and net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders per share - diluted, both of which include the gains, losses, expenses and related tax effects that are excluded from non-GAAP net earnings and non-GAAP net earnings per diluted share. Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure defined as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities (adjusted to include excess tax benefits from stock-based awards), less acquisition of property and equipment, net (i.e., acquisition of property and equipment less proceeds received from disposition of property and equipment) and dividends received from equity investees. We consider free cash flow to be a liquidity measure which provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by business operations, after deducting our net payments for acquisitions and dispositions of property and equipment, which cash can then be used for strategic opportunities or other business purposes including, among others, investing in the Company's business, making strategic acquisitions, strengthening the balance sheet, and repurchasing stock. A limitation of free cash flow is that it does not represent the total increase or decrease in the cash balance for the period. Management compensates for this limitation by also relying on the net change in cash and cash equivalents as presented in the Company's unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows prepared in accordance with GAAP which incorporates all cash movements during the period.
Yahoo Reports Second Quarter 2016 Results investor.yahoo.net 2016-07-30 05:20 investor.yahoo.net
3 Donald Trump makes nomination acceptance speech at RNC (0.01/1) |Donald Trump formally accepts the 2016 Republican nomination for president at the RNC on Thursday night. Trump said he will restore safety to the country in a time of crisis, citing recent terror attacks and violence towards law enforcement. He also emphasized themes of his campaign such as "making America first again" by protecting borders, increasing job opportunity and reducing the national debt.
Full Speech: Hillary Clinton delivers DNC remarks, accepts nomination cbsnews.com 2016-07-30 05:13 Donald Trump www.cbsnews.com
4 Of the People Mayor Shirley Franklin started a program in the city of Atlanta in which every single student who graduated from a public school, she’d find a way to pay for their first year of college. And, after hearing my story, she took an interest in me. She gave me a job in her office and she helped me get into college. Summer came, and I didn’t go to work because I didn’t have a suit. I got a call saying, “You need to get to work,” and she had someone take me suit shopping. They took me and bought me like five different suits and said, “This is how you invest in your kids.” I’m the first person in my family to graduate from college. That is the kind of local politics I grew to love in Atlanta. National politics is more messy. But I have hope that is going to change. Photograph by Ryan Stone for The New York Times
2016-07-30 06:00 The New www.nytimes.com
5 'The days of apartheid are gone' – Pitso Mosimane Downs beat Zamalek 1-0 at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Wednesday night to confirm themselves winners of the 2016 Caf Champions League’s Group B and reach the semifinals. This follows Orlando Pirates having reached the finals of the 2013 Champions League and 2015 Caf Confederation Cup in an unprecedented period of success for South African clubs in continental football. Pirates’ exploits have ensured South Africa enough points to move up to sixth on the Caf rankings that determine how many teams a country can enter in continental club competitions. Sundowns have contributed three more points reaching these semis. Mosimane‚ though‚ said it is unfair for some SA clubs to have to carry the baton while others – notably Bidvest Wits in the past two seasons‚ and Ajax Cape Town last season – effectively throw matches to avoid the cost and demand of playing in Africa. “All I know is that Orlando Pirates have done South Africa a favour by reaching continental semifinals and going further‚” Mosimane said. “And I’m happy that we are also now contributing and giving back‚ and making sure that we have two places for the Champions League and two for the Confederation Cup. “But it’s not nice. We work so hard that South African teams have places in these competitions and then some people don’t take it seriously. They say‚ ‘We don’t care about this’. “Sometimes you have clubs who really want to take these competitions seriously‚ like Platinum Stars. They really want it. They are so happy to be part of it. “And it’s not only good for us [the clubs]‚ it’s good for Bafana and the country. “It’s beautiful. We need to play in this space. We’ve been away from this space for too long. So it’s good when the real people look at it properly and take it seriously. “Because sometimes teams take 11 players with two substitutes.” Mosimane hit out at clubs’ complaints of the expense of playing in continental competition. “I think they look more at the financial side‚ to say‚ ‘Why should we spend money to go there’. But the SA teams who play in the Champions League are well sponsored. They really are‚” the former Bafana Bafana coach said. “There is no need. Our teams are well sponsored. We’ve got millions in sponsorship to be able to go there. “I mean‚ Zesco United – Zesco‚ we loaned them players at Sundowns. And they don’t even pay loan fees. But they keep going in Africa. How do they go? “I mean how much is a player at Zesco earning? Even Asec? But they keep going. “So it’s the mentality‚ it’s the culture. I don’t know – maybe we should blame apartheid for having been out of the continent for so long. But the days of apartheid are gone – let’s be honest.” Zambia’s Zesco United are in second place in Group A of this year’s Champions League‚ and Ivory Coast club Asec Abidjan in third. Sundowns have won all three matches in Group B‚ having also beating Nigerians Enyimba 2-1 at home and Zamalek by the same scoreline in Cairo. They won a fourth against ES Setif (2-0)‚ who were subsequently expelled for fan violence in the match in Algeria‚ reducing the group to three teams. Downs‚ on an unassailable nine points‚ will win Group B‚ ensuring a crucial home second leg match in the semifinal. - TMG Digital
2016-07-30 06:00 Marc Strydom www.timeslive.co.za
6 Russia rejects US criticism of weapons deployment to Crimea — RT Russian politics “ In reality, Russia has the right to base the movement of military forces and weapons on its territory on its own independent decisions ,” the head of the Foreign Ministry’s Department for Security and Disarmament Mikhail Ulyanov was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti on Friday. READ MORE: Russia to boost military presence in Crimea, response to NATO E. Europe expansion Ulyanov added that Russia had always chosen more correct formulas when it made public statements about the structure and placement of US military forces. “ We do not attempt to tell Washington which armed forces and in which numbers they can send to any of their states. The fact that they allow themselves to release such recommendation regarding us can be perceived as not quite politically correct, to say the least ,” he noted. Ulyanov also said that Russia had to take into consideration the fact that NATO members from outside the Black Sea region were sending their Navy ships to the Black Sea. This situation does not add up to mutual security and has to be included in the Russian military planning, he noted. READ MORE: Russia has right to place nuclear arms on its soil, including Crimea - Foreign Ministry The official told reporters that Russia had not received any proposals concerning the extension of the New START agreement, but if such proposals were to arrive they would be studied in accordance with all norms of international relations. In June last year, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement claiming that Russia retained the right to deploy its nuclear weapons anywhere on its national territory, including on the Crimean Peninsula. Back then, the statement came as a reply to allegations that the deployment of Russian arms in Crimea would be a violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, made by pro-US Ukrainian politicians.
2016-07-30 06:00 www.rt.com
7 DA asks SCA to deny petitions from ‘Hlaudi and his band of protectors’ The party said it will pen an affidavit asking the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to deny petitions for leave to appeal the Western Cape High Court’s setting aside of the appointment Motsoeneng as South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) chief operating officer. Theses petitions were expected from Motsoeneng‚ the SABC board and Communications Minister Faith Muthambi following Judge Dennis Davis’ dismissal earlier this year of their application for leave to appeal his judgment that found Motsoeneng’s appointment from acting to permanent COO was unlawful and irrational. “Mr Motsoeneng‚ Minister Muthambi and the SABC have been unsuccessful in almost all courts in which he has sought to keep his job‚” said the DA’s James Selfe. “Indeed the Western Cape High Court already found that the three government respondents ignored the remedial action ordered by the public protector‚ which the SCA slated is ‘irrational and unlawful’‚” he added. “To petition the SCA again on this matter is in itself irrational and a desperate attempt by the SABC and Minister Muthambi to protect a COO who has all but driven the public broadcaster into the ground.” Selfe also raised Monday’s decision by the Independent Communications Authority of SA’s (Icasa) Complaints and Compliance Committee to order the SABC to immediately withdraw the decision not to cover violent protests‚ which was attributed to Motsoeneng. “This is the latest independent body that has slated Mr Motsoeneng in his crusade to turn the SABC into his own personal fiefdom with his latest attempts to chill free speech by censoring any and all protest footage under the guise of cultivating ‘national unity’‚” he said. Motsoeneng has already indicated that the SABC will take the Icasa ruling on review. Selfe said of his party’s SCA affidavit that “while going to the courts is not the most desirable course of action‚ other remedies have proved unsuccessful”. He added that his party was “optimistic that the court will decline any petitions that will result in Mr Motsoeneng keeping his job”.
2016-07-30 06:00 TMG Digital www.timeslive.co.za
8 BBC, other MSM guilty of ‘clear & consistent bias’ against Corbyn, study finds — RT UK New research by the Media Reform Coalition and Birkbeck University of London shows there has been a “clear and consistent bias” both online and on television against Corbyn since the coup against his leadership was launched after the EU referendum. Similar conclusions were drawn earlier in July by a similar London School of Economics (LSE) study. Birkbeck academics studied news reports published in the wake of the June 23 vote, when a series of shadow cabinet members resigned en masse in the hope of forcing Corbyn to stand down. Outlets, including the BBC, were found to have given Corbyn opponents double the airtime afforded to Corbynistas. The report found “a marked and persistent imbalance in favour of sources critical of Jeremy Corbyn, the issues that they sought to highlight, and the arguments they advanced.” It also found a “strong tendency within the main BBC evening news bulletins for reporters to use pejorative language when describing Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters, including words like ‘hostile’ and ‘hard core.’” Media critic Roy Greens said the findings should force reporters and editors to face “the reality of their bias.” Compiled by Dr. Justin Schlosberg, the study compared news pieces about Corbyn’s leadership struggle as seen through the lens of the BBC, ITV, the Daily Mail, the Huffington Post, IBTimes, the Mirror, the Independent, the Guardian and the Telegraph. And as far as opinion pieces were concerned both the Telegraph and the Daily Mail failed to publish any article supportive of the leader of the opposition. The outlet most sympathetic with Corbyn was the Huffington Post, which divided its coverage between 50 percent pro-Corbyn comment and 50 percent critical or unclear. “Amidst the social fracturing and polarisation of democratic life post-Brexit, the need for a more plural and inclusive mainstream news media has never been more urgent,” Schlosberg said. “We hope that broadcasters and editors will respond positively to our call to consider the impact of imbalanced reporting on the democratic process.” Earlier research by LSE echoed Schlosberg’s conclusions, finding that three quarters of newspaper reporting on Corbyn in his first months as leader either ignored or “distorted his views.” “Allowing an important and legitimate political actor, i.e. the leader of the main opposition party, to develop their own narrative and have a voice in the public space is paramount in a democracy,” LSE’s Dr. Bart Cammaerts said.
2016-07-30 06:00 www.rt.com
9 Komphela prepared to sacrifice job to do what's right for Kaizer Chiefs From the beginning of Komphela’s long-awaited first stint at a big club – the biggest of them all in South African football – the former Bafana Bafana captain has been on the edge and in a difficult position. He had a tough act to follow in one-time Bafana mentor Stuart Baxter‚ whom Komphela assisted in the national technical team from 2004 to 2005 and who had won league and cup doubles with Chiefs in 2013 and 2015. Baxter left for a reason – he felt the club would not rebuild an ageing squad to his satisfaction to continue winning with it. Komphela‚ finally given a chance at a “big three” team‚ stepped into that environment. After finishing fifth in the PSL in a trophy-less 2015-16‚ the coach‚ who has at times worked wonders at small clubs such as Free State Stars and Maritzburg United‚ is still negotiating a cliff-edge. He continues to show passion and honesty‚ explaining how he will attempt to create a winning combination out of new signings‚ who have promise but still have not quite matched the headline acquisitions of heavyweight rivals Mamelodi Sundowns‚ Orlando Pirates and Bidvest Wits. Komphela was asked if signings like including Sundowns right-back Ramahlwe Mphahlele‚ SuperSport United left-back Suibusiso Khumalo and the Chicken Inn pair of Mitchell Katsvairo and Edmore Chirambadare can suit his needs more than a squad he mostly inherited last season. “Not my needs per se. Not my style of play per se. It’s looking at how Chiefs needs to play‚” the coach replied. “It is only fair to say that a Chiefs team has to take the initiative. A Chiefs team has to be proactive. A Chiefs team cannot react. “Now when I talk about ‘you are not proactive’‚ I mean you are too defensive. You are saying: ‘I’m giving you the initiative‚ opponent‚ I don’t care about the ball‚ I will sit without the ball and then come out on the counterattack.’ “Chiefs cannot afford that. For Chiefs‚ you have to take the initiative. “But to dominate you have to get the ball. And to do that‚ your game model in defence must be right. Even in your attack‚ as you start your attack‚ you already prepare yourselves that if we lose the ball we’re going to be like this. “Those things take time to implement. And it might not come out immediately. It might take three months‚ four months‚ a year. And in that year I might lose my job. “But at least do what is right. The biggest fear with human beings is to be scared to lose your job. “But listen‚ the joy of people is much more important than my losing my job. “Nelson Mandela sacrificed his life for people to be at peace. Sacrifice your job for people to be at joy – that’s how I look at it.” Komphela admitted Chiefs might have not quite matched such headline signings as Sibusiso Vilakazi to Sundowns‚ Cuthbert Malajila and Mogakolodi Ngele in the other direction to Wits‚ and Pirates’ acquisitions of Abbubaker Mobara and Riyaad Norodien from Ajax Cape Town. “It’s a business model. I don’t think they [Chiefs’ rivals] have quite the same overall infrastructure we do. Our development is quite strong‚” Komphela said. “And with the how football is currently played‚ with the speed that it is played at‚ the only fast people are the young ones. “So it’s just common that you have to tilt your scales toward youth so that you have the energy. “And I don’t think that we are at a disadvantage. We are OK. “Our rivals are dealing with their issues in their own way. We are OK with how we are dealing with things. “We are giving an opportunity to our kids here. Don’t be scared to play with youngsters – they will give you what you want.” Chiefs have promoted last season’s top-scorer from the Diski Challenge reserve league‚ Emmanuel “Adebayor” Letlotlo‚ to their first team‚ and 19- year-old centreback Siyabonga Ngezana from the youth. They have signed 19-year-old striker Ryan Moon from Maritzburg.
2016-07-30 06:00 Marc Strydom www.timeslive.co.za
10 The reason Black Coffee was released from Spring Fiesta Fans were looking forward to seeing the globe-trotting DJ in action but were disappointed to learn that he has been removed from the event's line-up. The festival's organisers released a joint statement with Black Coffee on Thursday announcing the decision, saying that they had chosen to release him from the line-up in order for him to chase an "unforeseen prestigious" career opportunity. The festival said that after discussions with the DJ's camp, "it was disclosed that an unforeseen prestigious and vitally pivotal career opportunity had been presented to Black Coffee. One which unfortunately made it impossible for Black Coffee to honour his performance commitment to Spring Fiesta on Saturday the 1st of October. " Organisers admit that at first they though that the request was a bit selfish but later realised that Black Coffee now belongs to the whole world. "Spring Fiesta fully supports and has encouraged Black Coffee to accept and embrace this unique opportunity which we believe will be seminal in further advancing and cementing his legacy on the global stage. To this end, we have made the decision to release Black Coffee from his scheduled performance at Spring Fiesta 2016," Festival Director Ricardo da Costa said in the statement. There has been no word yet on what the opportunity is but Black Coffee has thanked fans for understanding and has hinted at a return to the festival in 2017. "I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to return to Spring Fiesta in 2017 to once again perform for all of my incredible South African fans," he added. But wipe your tears, Black Coffee fans, your hero will still be a part of the festival's "Road To Spring Fiesta" campaign in the lead up to the main event.
2016-07-30 06:00 TMG Entertainment www.timeslive.co.za
11 DA irked by poor Madibeng’s offer to pay back the money for Zuma When the 2017 Hyundai Genesis G80 goes on sale this fall it will do so as a car with more passenger space than a Mercedes E Class, more horsepower than a Cadillac CTS and with a raft of active safety systems as standard that even Volvo S90 drivers are offered as... 2016-07-30 06:00 TMG Digital www.timeslive.co.za
12 ‘The way Britain shares its wealth led to Brexit’ — RT UK In an opinion piece for the Guardian newspaper on Friday, Hawking said it would be “ foolish to ignore the role that wealth does and doesn’t play in our society ” in the aftermath of the June 23 referendum. The professor, who suffers with motor neuron disease, said although he was stung by the ‘ Leave ’ vote: “ If I’ve learned one lesson in my life it is to make the best of the hand you are dealt. ” “ Now we must learn to live outside the EU, but in order to manage that successfully we need to understand why British people made the choice that they did. I believe that wealth, the way we understand it and the way we share it, played a crucial role in their decision. ” He said wealth has an important role in academic terms, as the EU provided grants for science and for him personally in terms of medical care for his severe disability. New enterprises and “ cathedral projects ” are now being invested in and more must follow, said Hawking. He described these as “ the modern equivalent of the grand church buildings, constructed as part of humanity’s attempt to bridge heaven and Earth. ” “ These ideas are started by one generation with the hope a future generation will take up these challenges. ” These could help address a number of “global and serious” issues like “ climate change, food production, overpopulation, the decimation of other species, epidemic disease, acidification of the oceans. ” Hawking warned that failing to deal with these issues would hand a victory to “ the forces that contributed to Brexit, the envy and isolationism not just in the UK but around the world that spring from not sharing. ” “ If we do this, then there is no limit to what humans can achieve together. ”
2016-07-30 06:00 www.rt.com
13 US military giving back 17% of occupied Okinawa land to Japanese — RT News Several murders and a drunken joyride that made headlines have only added to the growing feeling of discontent amongst the locals about the US’ regional presence. The military bases have long been blamed for noise and air pollution, and many locals also see them as an uneasy legacy of post- WWII American occupation. The handover is the biggest such move since 1972, when the formal occupation by US forces ended. It comes amid a rise in anti-American sentiment following a series of cases involving the US military, particularly the murder of a young Japanese woman by a civilian contractor. The area that is being returned is 4,000 sq. hectares (or 40 sq. km) and is part of a jungle training camp, a statement read. READ MORE: Tokyo to review ‘one-sided’ privileged status of Americans working at US bases in Japan "We are respectful of the feelings of Okinawans that our footprint must be reduced,” Lt. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson, said according to Reuters. His remarks come a month after Okinawans held one of their biggest demonstrations against the US presence in decades, with over 50,000 (65,000, by some accounts) showing up holding banners reading “anger over the limit,” following the murder of a young woman by an ex-Marine. Whilst the Japanese public was observing a 30-day mourning period for the young Japanese woman who was murdered, an American servicewoman went on a drunken joyride, which further inflamed tensions. The highly publicized cases led to varying degrees of control exercised over American troops – the latest being a blanket ban on all drinking on the island and for most servicemen and women to be confined to base. Tokyo is also in the midst of reviewing the privileges enjoyed by Americans living on Okinawa, in line with a 1960 agreement. As things stand, Japanese prosecutors do not have the power to indict members of the US military or its “civilian component” if they are alleged to have committed a crime while they were on duty, giving US authorities carte-blanche to take jurisdiction over the case. The so-called SOFA agreement is under review now. READ MORE: US tested biological weapons in Japan’s Okinawa in the 60s – report The handover of part of the territory back to the Japanese was agreed in 1996, but was not completed, as locals protested construction of a series of helipads – a precondition for the land to be transferred. The military base is of strategic importance to the Americans and the Japanese, who depend on Washington’s 30,000 military personnel stationed on Okinawa to guard them from China, which they perceive as a military threat. Around 50,000 US nationals live at the base, which occupy close to one-fifth of the total landmass of the island.
2016-07-30 06:00 www.rt.com
14 Transfer-listed Xulu‚ Manqele‚ Mthembu set for Chiefs first team return Chiefs announced a list of 20 players whose contracts would not be renewed‚ would be released‚ or put on transfer at the end of last season’s trophyless campaign where Amakhosi finished in fifth place. The three transfer-listed players – strikers Edward Manqele and Siphelele Mthembu‚ and defender Siyanda Xulu – have remained training with the squad. Motaung said being put on transfer can at times act as a metaphorical kick up the rear end for a player. “We haven’t received any offers for them. But obviously they’re part of the squad‚ like we said. And they’re part of the team‚” said Motaung. “And I think also sometimes putting players on transfer can shake them up a bit. Because they understood what the reason was for putting them on transfer. “It was for them to get an opportunity to play. But I think with the changes that have been made – and now they’ve got another lifeline – their attitude has been positive so far in camp. “And they are showing positive signs as well‚ with the change of attitudes and the energy that they have brought in. So I think they still have a lifeline to prove themselves. “For us it’s to get these guys to play football. It’s not about personal issues or anything. It’s more about them coming into Chiefs‚ wearing that jersey and competing. “And if we feel that the player is not giving us that much obviously we’ll put them on transfer just because we need them to go out there and compete as well‚ or get another opportunity.” All three players are available‚ and have been part of the voting‚ for Saturday’s preseason Carling Black Label Cup‚ where Chiefs meet Orlando Pirates at FNB Stadium. - TMG Digital
2016-07-30 06:00 Marc Strydom www.timeslive.co.za
15 Skyfall: Humvees airdropped from 5,000 feet by C-17 (VIDEO) — RT Viral The airdrop was executed in late May during the Crescent Reach annual exercise at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Humvees were parachuted from 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) by airmen of the 16th Airlift Squadron, normally based at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina. The exercise apparently went better than a Humvee airdrop at Hohenfels military base in Germany in the same month, in which three badly-fastened armored vehicles dropped from a C-130 Hercules spectacularly crashed to the ground. WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE
2016-07-30 06:00 www.rt.com
16 Russia will seek Ukraine foreign assets freeze if $3bn debt not repaid — RT Business Earlier this week, Ukraine’s Finance Minister Oleksandr Danilyuk said the country didn’t intend to repay the $3 billion debt to Russia, calling it “a political credit”. The Kremlin insists the debt is sovereign. READ MORE: Kiev imposes indefinite freeze on foreign debt repayment Under international law freezing the assets of a debtor is a common measure. “Freezing the assets means the money stops working, in this case, it may become a measure of pressure,” said lawyer Osip Visotsky as quoted by Izvestia. “If Russia gets down and dirty on the issue, the Ukrainian authorities will have to react. Ukraine shouldn’t hope the problem will simply go away,” Russian State Duma Deputy Leonid Slutsky told Izvestia. He stressed that Ukraine had better repay its sovereign debt. Earlier this year, Russia filed a lawsuit against Ukraine in the High Court in London to recover the loan Kiev failed to pay back in December. READ MORE: Moscow sues Kiev in London over $3bn debt In May, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko approved a bill extending the moratorium on paying off the country’s external debt, including the $3 billion Eurobond owed to Russia. Ukraine’s debt to Moscow, recognized by the IMF as official and sovereign, is the result of the agreement signed in 2013 between President Vladimir Putin and former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich. Russia agreed to lend Ukraine a $15 billion loan via the Ukrainian Eurobonds purchase. The first tranche of $3 billion was provided by Russia and was to be repaid by December 20, 2015. READ MORE: IMF recognizes Ukraine’s contested $3bn debt to Russia as sovereign Moscow had already suggested a debt-relief plan under which Ukraine could repay its arrears in three installments of $1 billion over the next three years. Russia wanted guarantees from the US, the EU or the International Monetary Fund on future payments of the Ukrainian sovereign debt. The deal, however, fell through, as Ukraine’s Western backers were unwilling to provide the guarantees.
2016-07-30 06:00 www.rt.com
17 Fransman miffed about learning his ‘sexual harassment’ fate via the media Fransman said he was appalled to learn‚ via a media report at the weekend‚ that he is likely to face the chop for bringing the party into disrepute for allegedly sexually harassing 21-year-old Louisa Wynand during the ANC’s 104th birthday celebrations in January. City Press reported that the commission recommended that he relinquish all positions he held in the party. “It is with emphatic appal that I have learned today from the media some of the content of the apparent findings of the ANC’s integrity committee in the matter of an unsubstantiated ‘sexual harassment’ complaint against me‚ without having received any notification whatsoever from the committee myself‚” he said in a statement on Sunday. “Such outrageous breach of ANC protocol and principle clearly brings the ANC into disrepute and seriously tarnishes the image of the ANC. “I didn't expect this from an internal structure of the organisation that is supposed to uphold the organisational protocols‚” he said. He claimed that the committee had written to him in February‚ “saying they cannot deal with the merits of the allegations”. He told it in April that it had been “compromised by political expediency‚ orchestrated by factions having previously – and continuously – failed to effect my political demise”. Wynand‚ TMG Digital reported in June‚ was allegedly offered a full bursary to study by the ANC while the committee conducted its probe. “Louisa received the bursary offer from the ANC‚ just after the ANC’s integrity commission meeting‚” said her spokesman Gavin Prins. Fransman has stated previously that he would prefer to have his day in court sooner rather than later to clear his name. He demanded the party furnish him with a copy of the committee’s findings.
2016-07-30 06:00 TMG Digital www.timeslive.co.za
18 Alcohol crackdown at UK airports after boozy Brits wreak havoc — RT UK Lord Ahmad has announced he will look into the way alcohol is sold in airports to ensure business travellers and families going on holiday feel “safe and secure.” The peer will examine the timings during which alcohol is sold in airports and ways to prevent drunken passengers boarding planes. Ahmad denied he wants to “ kill merriment altogether ,” but insisted passengers need to be “ responsible ” when flying. “ If you’re a young family travelling on a plane you want to go from point A to B, you don’t want to be disrupted, ” he said. “ I don’t think we want to kill merriment altogether, but I think it’s important that passengers who board planes are also responsible and have a responsibility to other passengers, and that certainly should be the factor which we bear in mind. “ In terms of specific regulations of timings of outlets (which sell alcohol) and how they operate, clearly I want to have a look at that .” Simon Calder, travel editor of the Independent, said the government’s review will lead to more control over how alcohol is sold at airports. Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, he said ministers may also consider breathalyzing passengers who are thought to be intoxicated. Last month a British easyJet passenger was arrested after allegedly downing a bottle of vodka before abusing passengers and crew on the Corfu-bound flight. The pilot said: “ We have had a nightmare. The man threatened our cabin crew, me and passengers, and then threatened to kill his girlfriend and children who were on the flight with him.”
2016-07-30 06:00 www.rt.com
19 Lack of Parliament antics sees EFF’s media profile dip: survey The wrong reason for the ruling party paid off for the official opposition‚ the Democratic Alliance (DA). That Parliament is not in session curtailed the impression the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) made. Those are some of the key findings of Basemedia’s “political tracker” for June. “The violence is Tshwane significantly elevated the ANC’s media profile but also contributed to negativity on the organisation‚” the survey found. It said that “Thoko Didiza emerged as one of the ANC’s most visible members after she was announced as mayoral candidate for Tshwane”‚ but noted that both she and incumbent mayor Kgosientsho Ramokgopa “faced negativity as a result of the violence that followed the announcement”. The research note‚ however‚ that the party was “gradually able to move away from the critical coverage as the party deployed senior leaders on the campaign trail”. The tracker suggested that the DA had profited from the ANC’s trouble in the country’s capital as the “media reflected on the internal strengths of the DA and the manner in which the party had chosen its candidates”. It also said the DA and leader Mmusi Maimane had scored from the “Jobs not jets” campaign about its disapproval of the widely reported R4-billion price tag for a new presidential aircraft. EFF leader Julius Malema‚ on the other hand‚ “struggled to have any high- impact media exposure” other than that which was “generated…after he stated that ‘South Africa would be a boring place without whites’ ”. The researchers noted that “past analysis has shown that one of the biggest drivers for the EFF has been because of the organisation’s behaviour in Parliament”. “However‚ with Parliament now in recess‚ the EFF has struggled to get media to focus significantly on the party’s local election campaigning.” The study also found that Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi “advanced his media profile while speaking at the IFP’s manifesto launch” in uMlazi‚ during which he acknowledged that his party had lost ground‚ but had regrouped and focused itself for the August 3 municipal polls.
2016-07-30 06:00 TMG Digital www.timeslive.co.za
20 Russia may supply components for Iranian satellites — RT Business “Iran shows a great interest in the experience of the Russian space program, including in the area of communication... The Russian satellites’ constructors have a very good chance of getting orders and contracts for Iranian projects,” Nikiforov told Rossiya 24 news channel, adding that negotiations are underway. Vaezi is on an official visit and plans to meet Roscosmos officials, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov as well as Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak. Iranian Vice President Sorena Sattari has already said Tehran will buy satellite equipment and Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ-100) airliners from Russia for $21 billion. Tehran is interested in using Russian rockets to launch satellites into orbit, he added. The Russian rocket and space corporation Energia is currently developing components for Egypt’s Egyptsat-A satellite. Energia designed and manufactured EgyptSat-2 which was successfully launched from the Baikonur space center in 2014. Last year, the subsidiary of the Russian Space Center and French satellite provider Eutelsat signed a long-term launch contract. In terms of the deal, several Proton-M carrier rocket launches with Eutelsat satellites will be carried out between 2016-2023 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The first launch is expected to carry the Eutelsat 9B satellite into orbit. The high- power broadcast satellite is designed to provide digital television and data services for Scandinavia and the Baltic countries. Over the past 15 years, Russian Proton rockets have launched 11 Eutelsat satellites into space.
2016-07-30 06:00 www.rt.com
21 The stats favour the Lions in their Super Rugby semifinal‚ but… The Highlanders‚ defending champions‚ generally find a way to win even though the stats suggest they shouldn’t win as much as they do. Take their handling errors as an example. They have a competition high one error per six carries. That translates to turnover ball and that’s a part of the game the Lions thrive on. They are Super Rugby’s leaders in turnovers‚ making one for every 11 tackles. But somehow the Highlanders are able to overcome their mistakes better than most because they have the best defence in the competition. They scramble brilliantly and they have the most prolific kicking game in the tournament as well. Often their handling errors are not in critical defensive zones on the field because they tend to only start playing “running” rugby when they are on their opponents’ territory. Handling errors are one thing‚ but where they occur is even more critical. But the Lions are a much more confident team since their last meeting‚ which the South African pacesetters lost 34-15 in Dunedin against a Highlanders side that took every chance that came their way that weekend. Given the tough travel schedule the Highlanders have endured in the past month – Dunedin-Port Elizabeth-Buenos Aires-Dunedin-Canberra- Johannesburg – the Lions must be feeling confident of turning the screw in the final quarter of the match again‚ just like they did against the Crusaders last weekend. And just as they did in the quarterfinal the Lions will need to make a fast start‚ defend well when they don’t have the ball‚ handle the Highlanders’ kicking threat and don’t allow their pack to gain parity. Faf de Klerk vs Aaron Smith – The All Black is without doubt the world’s best halfback at the moment. Smith’s crisp service is peerless and his ability to read the game and take exactly the right option is what marks him as a great. De Klerk will have to be at his scrappy best‚ harassing Smith into poor decisions. The Lions pack can give their little scrumhalf an advantage here by dominating the tight loose. Jaco Kriel vs James Lentjes – Little is known about the Highlanders openside‚ but the fact that he has been selected to start suggests he has the ability to compete with Kriel in the battle on the ground. The Lions and Springbok flank is a master pilferer with 15 turnovers won this year. Kriel is also a prolific ball carrier with 134 carries this season and 15 of them have been converted to clean breaks. Ruan Combrinck vs Waisake Naholo – The two wings are unlikely to directly compete‚ but are gamebreakers and essential attacking weapons. Comparing their stats is tricky because Naholo has played fewer than half the minutes Combrinck has in 2016‚ yet still managed to score seven tries. Combrinck has touched down eight times‚ but it’s his work off the ball that creates chances for his teammates. Combrinck has made 28 clean breaks‚ just two fewer than tournament leader Johnny McNichol. Franco Mostert vs Tom Franklin – Mostert is a tireless ball-carrier for the Lions and vital to putting them on the front foot. It’s a role Franklin performs well for the Highlanders as well. Both are valuable sources of lineout ball but Mostert is that little bit more efficient in terms of steals. He’s nicked four off opponents this season compared to Franklin’s one. 2016-07-30 06:00 Craig Ray www.timeslive.co.za
22 Cech trusts Wenger to buy right players for Arsenal tilt Wenger has made three additions to his squad so far in the close season, bringing in midfielder Granit Xhaka, defender Rob Holding and striker Takuma Asano, and, according to media reports, is actively looking for another forward. "I think you need to buy players you need, you need to buy players that will improve the team and not to buy players just for buying. That's the philosophy of the club," Cech told British media. "I've been here since last season and you can see that every time we bring in a player, it's a player we need, and the manager believes he improves the team. "There is a core of the players who have been at Arsenal for years, and they know that is an advantage as well. People get to know each other, how to play together. " Leicester's Jamie Vardy has already spurned the advances of the north London club in favour of extending his stay at the King Power Stadium, while Olympique Lyonnais said they rejected a 29 million pound ($38.27 million) bid for Alexandre Lacazette. However, Per Mertesacker's injury, which will see the centre back miss several months, is likely to force Wenger to begin the search for another defender, with media reports touting Valencia's Shkodran Mustafi as a possible target. Arsenal begin their new campaign on August 14, when they host Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.
2016-07-30 06:00 REUTERS www.timeslive.co.za
23 23 Firearms used on only 7 occasions by British police over 12 month period — RT UK Figures released by the Home Office on Thursday cover the year ending in March 2016 and show that the rate of discharges. Despite appearing to be incredibly low in comparison to the US, the figures are actually a record high in recent years. From the year ending in March 2013 weapons were only used three times while in the same 12 month period ending in 2015 there were only six occasions that firearms were used. This compares extremely favorably with the US, where police have killed 613 people in 2016 alone, though the precise figures for individual discharges are unknown. British armed police are only deployed to specific incidents and to guard vulnerable locations like airports and public buildings. The firearms figures emerged as the Police Federation reiterated its concern over government cuts to the number of armed officers in light of a spate of terror attacks on the continent. John Apter, chair of Hampshire Police Federation, told The Times that government pledges of more firearms-trained police are not enough to diminish a “ real sense of vulnerability ” in the UK. “ I don’t think that another 1,500 officers is enough, given events we have seen in France, ” he said. On Thursday it was claimed that only one suspect is being held under the UK’s highly restrictive Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measure (TPIM) program, despite a heightened national alert and fears of extremist attacks. The TPIM program, which came into effect in 2012, can include intense restrictions on suspects such as curfews and electronic tagging. Former senior counterterrorism officer Chris Phillips told the Daily Mail that just one person being held under TPIM. This is despite up to 2,000 terror suspects being known to police. 2016-07-30 06:00 www.rt.com
24 US-trained Afghan forces keep losing territory to Taliban – US govt report — RT News Taliban and other militant groups continue to gain ground despite Washington halting the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan this year. The NATO-backed Afghan government only controls or influences 65.6 percent of districts in the country as of May 28, 2016, down from the 70.5 percent it held in January this year. This is according to a quarterly report by US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) which oversees progress of a multi- billion program to train and equip the national military. In the meantime, Taliban and other terrorist groups hold or influence 36 districts (8.8 percent of the territory) populated by roughly 2.5 million people, while another 104 districts (25.6 percent) were “at risk” of falling into militants’ hands. The alarming report does not elaborate on militant-held areas of Afghanistan, but it mentions that by June 2016, the Pentagon had allocated over $68.4 billion “to build, equip, train, and sustain” Afghan national army and the police, together commonly known as Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANSDF). However, the Afghan military suffer from “high attrition rates, including high casualty rates” as well as poor command and control, leadership, logistics and overall coordination “preventing the ANDSF from properly engaging the Taliban.” The report claimed the increased insurgent control since January may be due to Afghan forces’ redeployment from lower-priority areas such as checkpoints to high-priority areas to “conduct offensive operations, gain and maintain the initiative, exploit opportunities, and consolidate tactical gains.” READ MORE: US to leave 8,400 troops in Afghanistan into 2017, 35 percent more than expected Army General John Nicholson, commander of US Forces in Afghanistan, told Reuters most of the Taliban-controlled areas are rural, meaning that the security situation in large cities, including the capital, is much better. However, Afghanistan has seen spiraling violence in recent months. Last Saturday, 80 people were killed and 231 injured in a devastating suicide attack at the heart of Kabul, with Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) claiming responsibility for the blast. In late June, Taliban suicide bombers targeted buses carrying newly- graduated police cadets in the western part of Kabul, killing 27 and injuring around 40, according to Reuters. Afghanistan remains fertile soil for Islamists, with Russia’s security agencies saying there are already thousands of IS militants ready to target neighboring countries.
2016-07-30 06:00 www.rt.com
25 Apollo astronauts 5 times more likely to die from heart disease, says study — RT America The NASA and Florida State University study revealed its findings on Thursday. They state that so far three Apollo astronauts, including Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, have died from cardiovascular disease, apparently as a result of the extreme cosmic radiation they were exposed to during their missions. READ MORE: Mars One being one-way 'is the biggest appeal’: RT talks to prospective candidates The researchers concentrated on a small group for the study: 42 astronauts who flew in space, seven of whom were Apollo veterans, the other 35 being non-flight astronauts. The study, published in the Scientific Reports journal, found that Apollo astronauts are four to five times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease death than astronauts who either never entered space or only flew on low-altitude missions. “These data suggest that human travel into deep space may be more hazardous to cardiovascular health than previously estimated,” it said. NASA’s Apollo program focused on a series of manned moon landings between 1969 and 1972. This is the first study to look at the mortality rates of Apollo astronauts, who have traveled further than any other manned space mission. The results could have a significant impact on future deep-space exploration - specifically those with an ambition to venture to Mars and beyond. A companion study with mice also found radiation exposure has a long-term effect on heart health, adding more evidence to the previously unknown risks of deep-space radiation. NASA has disputed the findings, reports Reuters , by saying it is too early to draw conclusions about the impact of cosmic radiation given the limited related data. The researchers involved in the cardiovascular study of astronauts are planning an in-depth follow-up study looking into family medical history and other factors.
2016-07-30 06:00 www.rt.com
26 Parliament hopes CCMA ruling will ‘close chapter of negative engagement’ with Nehawu The union had‚ in May‚ threatened to strike if Parliament’s presiding officers do not meets its demands on the payment of bonuses and what the union claims were the “unilateral” reductions in the performance ratings of some employees. In a statement on Monday‚ Parliament said the CCMA’s award stated “it is the legislative duty of the Secretary to Parliament to ensure that the resources of [Parliament] are used efficiently”. “In this regard the fact that [Parliament] as an institution had not achieved its overall targets which [it] found irreconcilable with performance achievements of 91 [percent] of its individual employees‚” the statement further quoted. The CCMA appeared to have accepted Parliament’s argument that the “review of the performance scores was a fair measure and done in accordance with its policies as a result of inconsistency between the performance of the institution based on audited results by the Auditor- General and the individual scores of the employees”. Parliament also noted that the CCMA found there was no “no evidence that [Parliament] had acted irrationally‚ capriciously or arbitrarily‚ with bias‚ malice or fraud or had failed to apply its mind or unfairly discriminated against the applicants when the scores were adjusted in order to achieve the approval of the Secretary to Parliament”. “The ruling by (the) CCMA is a thorough vindication of the position of Parliament in its submissions and public pronouncements. Parliament’s management acted in good faith in its engagement with employee issues. It also exposes the unreasonableness of the local branch of Nehawu and those that joined in the unfair condemnation of Parliament‚” it continued. “Parliament hopes that this ruling will close the current chapter of negative engagement and help solidify a commitment to work together in transforming the institution to offer an even more efficient support service to Parliament in discharging its constitutional responsibility.” The legislature has been beset with Nehawu actions‚ including what it alleged involved “targeted media” being “primed and invited into an internal meeting” which was disrupted in June. The union also occupied the chambers of the Parliament during an unprotected strike of nearly four weeks late last year. The union had said it intended “to begin…rolling mass action” in June‚ and the strike could extend beyond Parliament to the provincial legislatures.
2016-07-30 06:00 TMG Digital www.timeslive.co.za
27 Kaizer, Iron Duke show maturity He was addressing the unrest among United fans, the privileged millions who have little idea of what it is to have "a couple of years on the quiet side of success" (the last piece of silverware was the 2013 season-opening Community Shield). What a shot in the arm, then, for incumbent Louis van Gaal (who was tasked with righting Moyes' wrongs), to have Fergie, a demigod in European football and the man who was at the helm for 26-and-a-half years; the man who brought unprecedented success to the club, earning himself post- retirement statues, a stand at Old Trafford named after him and a series of business masterclasses at Harvard University, to fight in his corner. There aren't too many right now. It has been particularly refreshing, then, to see that our two biggest clubs - Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates - who have been overshadowed by Mamelodi Sundowns this season, take a more mature view of their current struggles than their restless followers. Kaizer Motaung could have listened to the outcry over Chiefs' two cup final defeats under coach Steve Komphela - and early exits from the CAF Champions League and the Nedbank Cup at the hands of Orlando Pirates - and axed Komphela less than 10 months into the job. With a lack of obvious candidates strong enough to assume the massive role of head coach at Naturena, Motaung would presumably have turned to club icon Doctor Khumalo to see out the rest of the season; like Ryan Giggs after Moyes' sacking. Giggs had the benefit of learning under Ferguson (who has mentioned that Giggs would have been his successor had he retired earlier) and carried on the philosophy the club has been known for for decades. Khumalo wouldn't have enjoyed a similar education, even though he has worked with Championship-winning Stuart Baxter. Motaung's statements this week were the absolute antithesis of the modern- day rhetoric about sacking coaches at the earliest possible opportunity. "Our supporters take it too far, instead of giving the coach time. In fact, when the team is not doing well that's when you want the supporters rallying behind them. "If you are a chairman of a club, you must act like a leader. A leader must not be lost with the crowd, otherwise the whole thing collapses," argued the boss. Of course the same stance does not apply to the country's prevailing political climate; ahem, Mr Gwede Mantashe. Nor did it apply to the impasse at Chelsea during the first third of the English Premier League, when Jose Mourinho seemed to be burning bridges with all and sundry at Stamford Bridge. Situations vary. Motaung acknowledged that Amakhosi will have to be content with playing bridesmaid this time around, and that the squad needs sprucing up, with a few of the players on the wrong side of 30. That's leadership. And as clueless as Van Gaal and United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward seem to be when it comes to recruitment policy, look at how the introduction of youngsters such as Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard et al, have brought some feel-good back to Old Trafford. The Iron Duke at Orlando Pirates appears to be taking a similar approach to the Kaizer, trusting Eric Tinkler to lay foundations for future success. One hopes this is a sign that people are finally using their brains rather than bowing to the howling of the fans.
2016-07-30 06:00 Andile Ndlovu www.timeslive.co.za
28 Zamalek Downed Ali Gabr's unfortunate 80th- minute own goal handed Mame-lodi Sundowns a deserved 1-0 win in their CAF Champions League Group B clash against Zamalek in Atteridgeville last night. The burly centreback turned in Keagan Dolly's cross-shot and the ball dribbled agonisingly away from the wrong-footed goalkeeper Ahmed El-Shenawy. It was a cruel twist of fate for the visitors but a deserved stroke of luck for the hosts. Pitso Mosimane's side have nine points from their three games and have guaranteed the crucial top spot. The first-half was high on style but lacked goal-scoring substance. Sundowns should have taken the lead in the 38th minute when Khama Billiat beat Gabr for pace but his shot could not get past the excellent El-Shenawy. The tussle between the Egyptian international and the Zimbabwean winger was a highlight. El-Shenawy also kept out a Billiat shot in the 33rd minute. Sundowns battled in the pace stakes with the likes of Mahmoud Shikabala and Basem Morsy creating havoc. However, Zamalek's best chance of the half fell to leftback Ali Fathy, who shot straight at Denis Onyango. Sundowns had other chances through Leonardo Castro and Modise but failed to keep El-Shenawy busy. The chilly conditions allowed for a hi-octane second half where Sundowns again had chances they could not quite bury. Castro and Tebogo Langerman were culprits eight minutes into the stanza though the latter's shot had the beating of El-Shenawy as it skipped wide of the upright. It was a similar case with Hlompho Kekana's 75th minute piledriver but El- Shenawy was equal to the task. It was a pity the own goal spoiled what was a good game for the 25-year- old.
2016-07-30 06:00 KHANYISO TSHWAKU www.timeslive.co.za
29 Local Detroiter speaks at DNC convention about raising the minimum wage DETROIT, Mich. (WXYZ) - The Democratic National Convention has wrapped up and one of the speakers to hit the stage in Philadelphia is from the Motor City. Henrietta Ivey is from Detroit and works two jobs. She also works with a group called Fight for 15 to help improve the working wages and raise the minimum wage. Ivey is a home health worker and a part time driver. She has four kids and seven grandkids and she has difficult time making ends meet. Which is why she is so passionate about improving wages for the working class and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Ivey was approached by Clinton’s campaign to speak at the DNC because of her work with Fight for 15 and the speeches she’s done for organization. She said she was honored to get the opportunity to deliver her message on a national stage. "I can't even put into words, I can't describe it, it was amazing to see so many people come together for all of these different causes. Hillary Clinton taking the nomination on the same day we all spoke just made it really amazing. I can say, I will never forget it for the rest of my life,” said Ivey. She said if Clinton’s campaign stops in the Motor City, she hopes she will get another opportunity to spread her message.
2016-07-30 06:00 Breanne Palmerini www.wxyz.com
30 Essential Arts & Culture: DNC set design, L. A.'s public art biennial, a ballet star in 'A Chorus Line' A political stage that unified with pattern and pixels A woman takes the podium An auction house becomes a shadow bank L. A.’s sprawling art biennial A ballet star goes Broadway Punk’s early days Drag gets the theater treatment
2016-07-30 06:00 Los Angeles www.latimes.com
31 7.7-magnitude quake off Northern Marianas; no tsunami alert WASHINGTON—A strong but deep 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the Northern Mariana Islands in the western Pacific on Saturday, but triggered no tsunami alert, US monitors said. The quake struck at a depth of 132 miles (212 kilometers) at 7:18 am Washington time (2118 GMT Friday) some 19 miles southwest of the island of Agrihan, according to the US Geological Survey. No tsunami warning was issued. A self-governing commonwealth of the United States since 1976, the Northern Marianas consist of 15 islands, with more than 90 percent of the population of 54,000 living on the main island, Saipan. Only four other islands are populated. RELATED STORIES Strong earthquake strikes off Vanuatu; no tsunami warning Strong earthquake jolts southeastern Pacific—USGS
2016-07-30 06:00 Agence France newsinfo.inquirer.net
32 One cop killed, one wounded in San Diego shooting WASHINGTON—A police officer died and another was wounded in a shooting at a traffic stop in San Diego, police said Friday. A Hispanic man was later taken into custody, San Diego police chief Shelley Zimmerman told a news conference. He was not immediately identified, but Zimmerman said he is now in the hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the upper torso. “We are still actively investigating the crime scene, including searching for any possible remaining suspects,” Zimmerman said. “To have this happen to our police officers, we have seen this happen way too many times just in these last few weeks across our great country. It is tragic for everyone.” The two officers radioed in that they were making a traffic stop late Thursday, then called for emergency backup soon after, she said. Officers who arrived found the pair had been shot. Jonathan DeGuzman, 43, died in the hospital, Zimmerman said. His wounded partner Wade Irwin came out of surgery later in the morning and is expected to survive, the police department tweeted. The shooting took place around 11 p.m. Thursday (0600 GMT Friday) in the southeastern neighborhood of Southcrest, the San Diego Union Tribune reported. It was too early to say whether the officers had been ambushed, Zimmerman said. Police launched a manhunt after the incident. Zimmerman said an operation was carried out in which forces surrounded a house where a “potential second suspect may be inside.” However, the San Diego Union Tribune later reported that no one was found. The United States has been on edge for weeks following shootings of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Those attacks followed anger among the black community over the shooting deaths of African-American suspects by white police in Minnesota and Louisiana. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reacted on Twitter writing: “Two policeman just shot in San Diego, one dead. It is only getting worse. People want LAW AND ORDER!” In her speech to accept the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday, Hillary Clinton highlighted the importance of easing race relations in the United States.
2016-07-30 06:00 Agence France newsinfo.inquirer.net
33 33 Duterte vows: Constitutional changes to be pro-Filipino DAVAO CITY – President Duterte has vowed to make sure that changes in the Constitution will be responsive to the will of the people. “I will not allow a Constitution that is anti-Filipino,” he said, on Friday , after visiting the wounded militiamen who were ambushed in Kapalong, Davao del Norte on Wednesday . The President said his administration decided to have a constituent assembly, instead of a constitutional convention, to save on money. The President said with a constitutional convention, government would spend billions of pesos. Delegates to the Con-con will have to be elected by the people and the Philippine government will have to organize a support staff for the convention and finance its daily operations until it finishes its work of re-writing the Constitution. A constituent assembly is basically a joint session of Congress — the House of Representatives and the Senate and therefore, government would not have to spend much more in convening the assembly and running the support staff. Mr. Duterte allayed the public’s fear that lawmakers sitting as a Constitutional Convention would end up serving their interests. “Besides, I will be there,” he said. “When worse comes to worst, they (lawmakers) know what will happen,” the President said. Mr. Duterte said the Con-Ass “can only come up with a Constitution that is responsive to the will of the people.” “And I will be there to read what you have worked on,” the President said. But the President said he wanted the Partylist system stricken out of the Constitution. “It will never come again,” Mr, Duterte said. “With a new Constitution, I will insist no partylist,” Mr. Duterte added. The President said party list groups have “abused” the system, with the rich organizing their own groups. “Representing what? Security guards?” he said. “That’s a mockery of the law,” the President added. SFM
2016-07-30 06:00 Nico Alconaba newsinfo.inquirer.net
34 Signal No. 1 up in 7 areas as ‘Carina’ accelerates Tropical depression ‘Carina’ has slightly picked up speed as it continued its northwest track, the state weather bureau said Saturday morning. In its weather bulletin released at 8 a.m., the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services (Pagasa) administration said that Carina was last spotted at 155 kilometers east of Catarman, Northern Samar. It slightly accelerated from moving at 11 kilometers per hour (kph) to 15 kph. It maintained its strength with maximum sustained winds of 55 kph near the center. Signal No. 1 was raised in Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar and Samar. Pagasa has also raised a yellow rainfall warning in Northern Samar, Eastern Samar and Samar, meaning flooding and landslides are possible in these areas. Carina’s winds may bring light to no damage to low risk structures, light to medium damage to high risk structures, slight damages to houses built of very light materials, and significant damages to rice crops in their flowering stage. Pagasa said Carina is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility by Tuesday morning. RELATED STORIES ‘Carina’ brings more rain but no gale warning yet Rainy weekend in parts of PH due to ‘Carina’
2016-07-30 06:00 Ivan Angelo newsinfo.inquirer.net
35 Survivor JP has seen it all, at just 33 The integrity of their defence has been shaped by JP Ferreira who has seen far more than you'd expect for a 33-year-old. Yesterday, defence coach Ferreira, preparing the Lions for Saturday's semifinal against the Highlanders, was asked about his career that has had more twists and turns than a Hitchcock thriller. "I started here in 2007. In 2009 when Eugene Eloff told me that he had been fired it was a little distressing because my contract was linked to his," he said matter-of-factly. Ferreira was spared the axe and went on to outlast Hans Coetzee and Jake White, then Dick Muir and later John Mitchell. "I learnt a lot from all those coaches. I have a lot to learn. " The Lions don't have the sturdiest defence but they have held their defence lines when it really mattered, which helps explain their second-place finish on the Super rugby points table. With a better fortified defensive line this season, the Lions have been able to indulge their attacking instincts. "The players don't play to win. They play to score tries," said chief executive Rudolf Straeuli. It is a script from which they are unlikely to deviate in the semifinal. In fact, for them nothing changes even with the higher stakes this weekend. "They are very relaxed," said coach Johan Ackermann. Some of the Lions' aerial skills let them down last weekend. Lineouts went astray, as did a high ball, which resulted in a Crusaders try. The Highlanders also use high ball so the Lions will be watchful. "You have to be aware of that," said coach Ackermann. "The balance Ben Smith strikes between kicking and running is good. You have to know what you are doing. "
2016-07-30 06:00 LIAM DEL www.timeslive.co.za
36 Road rage killer arrives in Manila The man seen shooting to death a biker in Manila on Monday night has arrived at the Manila Police headquarters on Saturday morning. Vhon Tanto arrived a few minutes before 7 a.m. Supt. Marissa Bruno, MPD spokesperson, said Tanto would undergo booking procedures. Tanto also accidentaly shot 18-year-old college student Rocel Bondoc, who’s still in critical condition. TVJ RELATED STORY Road rage killer falls in Masbate
2016-07-30 06:00 Kristine Felisse newsinfo.inquirer.net
37 No clarity on Narsingh Yadav's dope case verdict date New Delhi : A day after Narsingh Yadav's dope scandal hearing got over, there was no clarity today over when the NADA's Anti-Doping Disciplinary Penal will announce its final verdict, which will decide the wrestler's Rio Olympics fate. Narsingh Yadav After the conclusion of the two-day hearing on Narsingh's dope positive case yesterday, the NADA counsel had said that the verdict would come either tomorrow or on August 1. But there is still no clarity on whether the verdict will come tomorrow or on Monday. When contacted, the counsels of both NADA and Narsingh said they have not been told when the panel would give its final decision. Wrestling Federation of India is also clueless when the verdict will come. "We have not been told when the verdict will come. It may be tomorrow or Monday but we don't know when," a Wrestling Federation of Indian source said. "There is a 50-50 chance that he might be let off with a warning or may be handed a ban by the NADA disciplinary panel," the source said. As per the revised NADA Code of 2015, the maximum sanction for a first-time offence is four years. Narsingh's lawyers had presented their case on Wednesday, arguing that there was a conspiracy against the grappler while the NADA's legal team gave its arguments against the sabotage theory before the disciplinary panel yesterday. "The argument by NADA was that he is not eligible for remission which he has been asking. Narsingh did not producethe relevant circumstantial evidence that there could have been sabotage as had been claimed by them," NADA's lawyer Gaurang Kanth told reporters at the end of the hearing yesterday. "They filed an affidavit that his drinks or water was spiked but they did not produce the evidence to prove it to satisfy NADA and WADA," he argued. The wrestler, who has alleged the involvement of fellow grapplers in the conspiracy, has already been replaced by Parveen Rana in the Olympic bound squad but will be reinstated if he gets a favourable verdict from NADA. NADA's lawyer, however, said that Narsingh's claims of conspiracy are not backed by sufficient proof. "We argued that the requirements of due diligence and care which was needed to escape from punishment was not provided as to satisfy the WADA Code. So we said he should be given punishment as appropriate this panel thinks fit," Kanth had said.
2016-07-30 06:00 By PTI www.mid-day.com
38 38 Potholes issue: BMC tells HC engineers getting abusive calls BMC today informed the Bombay High Court that it has decided to withdraw the advertisements displaying the mobile numbers of its engineers for people to lodge complaints of potholes as the officers have been hounded with "abusive" phone calls. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) counsel Anil Sakhare told a division bench of Justices S M Kemkar and M S Karnik that it will now hand out new mobile phones and SIM cards and only these numbers will be advertised and used to receive complaints from the people. On July 15 this year, HC had directed BMC to publish the numbers of the road engineers of each municipal ward. The direction had come after the court was informed that BMC's web based app MCGM 24x7 was not working and the people had no other means to get their complaints registered. Sakhare told HC that people have been calling the road engineers and abusing them. To this, the bench observed that "people must be getting frustrated after driving through long stretches of roads riddled with potholes and hence making those heated calls". Sakhare also informed the bench that in compliance with its previous orders, BMC had shortlisted three firms to supply "better quality of road repair material". Meanwhile, the state government informed the bench that since the last hearing in court, it had filled up 3,247 potholes on the Eastern and Western Expressway Highways and 137 more potholes remained to be repaired on both the highways.
2016-07-30 06:00 By PTI www.mid-day.com
39 Sheena Bora case: Court rejects Sanjeev Khanna's bail plea A special CBI court today rejected the bail application of Sanjeev Khanna, one of the accused in the sensational Sheena Bora murder case. Special CBI judge H S Mahajan, after hearing the arguments of Khanna and CBI, rejected his bail plea. Khanna, in his bail application filed through his lawyer Shreyansh Mithare, had said that he was not present when Sheena was strangled in a car here on April 24, 2012. According to the CBI, Sheena was picked up from Bandra here by her mother and prime accused Indrani Mukerjea -- Khanna's former wife -- around 6.30 pm that day, whereas Khanna had reached a Mumbai hotel at 6.04 pm, where he was to stay, the lawyers said. "It was impossible for Khanna to reach the spot, where Indrani and Sheena were in such a short time, his lawyer had argued. Refuting CBI's claim that Khanna was at Indrani's house at Marlow Bungalow in Worli, his lawyers said around that time he was ordering a meal at his hotel. "The waiter, who served him in his room, took Khanna's signature on the bill," they said. There was no "meeting of minds" between Khanna and Indrani to hatch the conspiracy, the lawyers added. A key witness, who saw the body being disposed of, emerged three years after the incident and witnesses identified Khanna as his face was all over the media, his lawyers said. The CBI, while arguing against the granting of bail to Khanna, told the court that he was in the know of the conspiracy and Indrani's former driver (who has turned approver), has named Khanna. Indrani, Khanna and her current husband and former media baron Peter Mukerjea are accused of conspiring to murder Sheena, Indrani's daughter from an earlier relationship, with a financial motive. Her former driver Shaymvar Rai has turned approver in the case. According to CBI, Indrani, Khanna and Rai were involved in the actual murder on April 24, 2012. Sheena was strangled inside a car and her body burnt in a forest in Raigad district.
2016-07-30 06:00 By PTI www.mid-day.com
40 Mumbai-based merchant relieved of diamond, one held Chennai : A Mumbai-based diamond merchant was relieved of a 11-carat diamond worth about Rs 2.75 lakh by two men under the pretext of "examining" it here today, police said. Nazeer and his friend Arumugam took to their heels with the diamond, much to the shock of the merchant, who raised an alarm seeking help to catch them. Two policemen, who were on patrol duty, chased the duo and nabbed Arumugam, while Nazeer made good his escape with the diamond. The incident happened when Nazeer, a broker dealing with precious stones, and his friend Arumugam, had gone to meet diamond merchant Rajesh Waswani of Mumbai to examine the diamond and suggest a suitable buyer for it. A hunt is on for Nazeer, police said.
2016-07-30 06:00 By PTI www.mid-day.com
41 Now, a bus tour for city cricket fans Aiming to represent the city's rich cricket culture, former Test cricketer Yajurvindra Singh is set to organise the country's first heritage tour scheduled to held in Mumbai on August 14. A match in progress at the Brabourne Stadium The one-day bus tour will be anchored by commentator Milind Wagle and former BCCI media manager Devendra Prabhudesai, who will narrate stories and anecdotes of various stadiums in the city including the iconic Wankede stadium. The event which is conceptualised by Marine Sports will include tour to the Oval Maidan, Cross Maidan, Azad Maidan, Kennedy Seaface, Wankhede Stadium, Brabourne Stadium among many others. Singh represented India in four Tests besides playing 78 first class matches.
2016-07-30 06:00 By PTI www.mid-day.com
42 Airport complaints hotline eyed The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) will set up a hotline to ensure instant response to passenger complaints at the country’s premier airport. MIAA general manager Ed Monreal said the agency is batting for a three- minute response time to concerns the public may face while at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia). These complaints may range from rudeness to extortion on the part of MIAA workers or employees from other Naia- based agencies and from overcharging to theft by transportation services. At present, the MIAA has two phone lines to receive passenger complaints and other concerns: Txt NAIA 09178396242 and 8230669 for the Customer Relations Center. Monreal said the Naia has long been receiving strong criticism from passengers, some of whom have been victimized by unscrupulous persons, treated shabbily or have expressed displeasure over the facilities at the airport. Because of these criticisms, the Naia has been ranked among the world’s worst airports. “To me, this is very alarming. It is already embarrassing that we are receiving a lot of negative feedback,” Monreal said. He said the hotline would be for the one-stop airport security center which would facilitate coordination among all security forces and government agencies at the Naia. According to Aviation Security Group Director Senior Supt. Mao Aplasca, the revival of the airport security center is a welcome development. Aplasca said the hotline number was designed to duplicate the 911 infrastructure used in Davao City. Meanwhile, the officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) met with representatives of international and local airlines to iron out operational kinks at the country’s airports, including the Naia. CAAP Director General Antonio Buendia Jr. on Tuesday consulted the members of the Airport Operators Council (AOC) on the possible improvements the agency can undertake to ensure smooth air operations. The AOC is comprised of some 40 members, including international and domestic airlines, low-cost carriers and ground handlers. With a report from Janine Perea/TVJ
2016-07-30 05:52 Jeannette I globalnation.inquirer.net
43 3 months for a passport appointment? Here’s why MALVAR, BATANGAS— Ever wonder why it takes two to three months to schedule a passport application appointment online? APO Production Unit Inc., the government-owned printing facility, has foiled a lucrative scam of fixers who has reserved up to 450 slots for passport applicants which they sell at P5,000 each for those in desperate need of travel documents. APO Production sales manager Dominic Tajon said these fixers, who are believed to be backed by syndicates, earn as much as P2.5 million by blocking passport application slots. The rates for the reserved online passport schedule start at P5,000 and can go higher depending on the applicants’ preferred date of application or renewal of their passports, he said. “The days of fixers are numbered because the Department of Foreign Affairs has allowed APO Production to handle the end-to-end passport processing in the next two months,” said Tajon in an interview with the diplomatic press corps on Thursday. He said the public can expect ease in getting online appointment by September, when applicants under the old system would have been accommodated. Tajon said the scam has been uncovered by information technology experts while installing the new security feature in the DFA’s online passport application on June 17. DFA spokesperson Charles Jose said regional consular offices of the DFA will also institute a similar appointment system so the applicants will be spared the hassles of long queues. “In Aseana, we will also see considerable improvement in getting online appointments once measures we’ve instituted a month or so ago start taking effect in August and September,” said Jose in a text message. APO has signed a memorandum of agreement with the DFA in Oct. 5, 2015, that allows the firm to handle the end-to-end passport system. He said the new integrated system aims to meet the demands for continued production of electronic passports to comply with the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations attached agency. “A new security system has been installed last June 17 that scrutinizes the identity of applicants,” he said. Tajon toured reporters yesterday at the highly secured APO Processing Plant at the Lima Export Processing Zone in Malvar, Batangas, showing the new facilities and equipment to be used in producing the newly designed Philippine passport. The DFA is expected to launch the new Philippine passport on Aug. 15. He said APO had to start from scratch since the previous company that handled passport production did not turn over the facility and equipment. The DFA started the electronic passport that replaced the green passport in 2009. It contains a highly secured micro chip that contains all personal details of the passport holders. Under the new contract, the DFA and APO Production commit “to secure the integrity of the Philippine e-passport by adopting technological developments in the production and security of e-passports.”
2016-07-30 05:51 Estrella Torres globalnation.inquirer.net
44 Hopes high for Senate, CHR probes of killings The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday expressed hope that the investigation by the Senate and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) into the rise of drug-related killings would help put a stop to further attempts at summary justice. Phelim Kine, the group’s deputy Asia director, said the independent probes “will hopefully shed light on the circumstances of the recent increase in police killings of suspected drug dealers and users and help prompt the government and the police to ensure that criminal suspects are provided due process rather than summary ‘justice.’” In a statement, he noted that by launching each of their inquiries into the killings, the Senate and the CHR were performing a duty that the new administration and the Philippine National Police had basically refused to do. Sen. Leila de Lima announced on Wednesday that the Senate inquiry, to start in August, will focus on “specific cases of suspected summary execution” by the police. For its part, the CHR has launched its own “test probe” of 103 suspected extrajudicial killings, including 33 deaths of suspected drug dealers and users at the hands of police. Urgently needed “These investigations are urgently needed,” Kine said. The HRW cited the observation of Philippine human rights groups on the “surge of extrajudicial killings of suspected criminals and drug offenders” since President Duterte took office on June 30. According to the Inquirer’s twice-weekly “Kill List,” which tallies the killings of suspected drug dealers and users by police and unidentified vigilantes, records show a “marked and unmistakable” rise in such killings—420 deaths since Duterte was sworn in. Official statistics support assertions of an alarming increase in police killings of drug-related criminal suspects, the HRW said. 192 killed PNP data indicated that police killed at least 192 criminal suspects between May 10—the day after Duterte was elected—and July 10. “That dwarfs the 68 killings of suspects that police recorded during ‘antidrug operations’ between Jan. 1 and June 15,” the HRW said. The human rights group said police officers who claimed that the suspects they killed had “resisted arrest and shot at police officers,” generally could not provide further evidence that they acted in self-defense. Established in 1978, the HRW is an international nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. 2016-07-30 05:50 DJ Yap globalnation.inquirer.net
45 Teachers group gathers signatures vs lesson logs Teachers’ groups from Metro Manila and neighboring provinces said they would troop to the Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday and submit a petition with at least 50,000 signatures asking Education Secretary Leonor Briones to lift an order requiring teachers to make daily lesson logs. Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC) chair Benjo Basas yesterday said teachers from the capital, Calabarzon and Central Luzon would seek an audience with Briones to also appeal for the reduction of clerical tasks for public school teachers in general. The new format for daily lesson logs was yet another clerical burden for school teachers, teachers complained. The signature campaign was launched last Sunday following a series of forums on teachers’ rights and welfare, Basas told the Inquirer. “Initially, the signature campaign was launched in Metro Manila, Calabarzon and Central Luzon. But we are aiming for a national scope so we have also made the signature forms available through e-mail and Facebook,” he said. In a statement yesterday, Briones said she has not made a decision recalling the order but she was open to a discussion on the matter. A consultation with stakeholders will also be held before policy determination will be made, she added. The agency noted that the new format of the daily lesson logs was merely meant as a planning tool in terms of budgeting time and choosing the appropriate activities and assessment strategies to ensure that students meet the competencies desired in each lesson. “The DepEd wishes to assure teachers and the public that the new daily lesson log format was created with the best interests of teachers in mind,” the statement said. TDC wrote a letter to Briones reiterating that DepEd Order No. 42 was unnecessary and that older guidelines on the use of simplified lesson logs be enforced instead. The group enumerated several reasons why the order should be halted immediately. For starters, the group pointed out that the order was never included in the summer in-service training of teachers as the order was only issued on June 17 or four days before the resumption of classes last month. “Many school heads are in confusion as to how it will be implemented,” it also stated. “In several instances, teachers were told to adopt the daily lesson log template even without the benefit of proper orientation,” it added. Such confusion has also resulted in conflicts between teachers and school administrators, it furthered. “There were several reports that teachers got sick and hospitalized due to exhaustion and extreme fatigue. A teacher in a province allegedly committed suicide because of this,” claimed the group. The new lesson log requirement is “truly a burden to teachers,” the group stated in the letter. Earlier, ACT Teachers party-list issued a statement saying the new requirement was an “unnecessary hardship” that took away their time for developing teaching aids.
2016-07-30 05:48 Jocelyn R newsinfo.inquirer.net
46 Venezuela Implements Serfdom To Cope With Food Shortages In a desperate effort to cope with worsening food shortages, the government of Venezuela has approved a new law that allows the government to force citizens into agricultural labor. According to Vice News, the law, approved by President Nicholas Maduro’s government last week, empowers the government to conscript both public and private-sector workers to join agricultural work teams for 60-day periods. The conscription can be renewed repeatedly, meaning the government could potentially force workers to permanently become agricultural workers with no ability to return to their old jobs. Officially, the government will still pay these workers their old work salaries, creating a system comparable to medieval serfdom. But with Venezuela in the grip of hyperinflation , it’s not clear what these workers will be able to buy with their salaries. The law was passed as an executive decree, allowing it to bypass Venezuela’s National Assembly, which is controlled by opposition parties opposed to Maduro. (RELATED: Venezuela’s Big Mess Could End In One Of Five Ways) The law is the latest sign of desperation in Venezuela, which has experienced almost complete economic disintegration over the past year. The country’s woes can be claimed on a combination of falling oil prices as well as the systemic failure of socialist economic policies created by Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez. Besides food, the country is also experiencing shortages in toilet paper, paper money, and even gasoline, despite having the largest proven oil reserves on planet Earth. Maduro’s government claims the country is the victim of right-wing business interests that are deliberately sabotaging the country’s economy. (RELATED: In Venezuela, Dumpsters Are The New Grocery Stores) Unsurprisingly, the new decree is being denounced by human rights groups, with Amnesty International deploring the law for driving people into “forced labor.” “Trying to tackle Venezuela’s severe food shortages by forcing people to work the fields is like trying to fix a broken leg with a band aid,” Erika Guevara Rosas, the group’s Americas director, said in a statement. Venezuela is hardly the first socialist country to impress citizens into agricultural labor. The Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia drove the country’s urban population into rural areas in an effort to create a new, communist agrarian society, and ended up killing over a million people. Similarly, Fidel Castro’s Cuba forced citizens to work on sugar plantations in order to cultivate additional sugar for export. Send tips to [email protected] . Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].
2016-07-30 05:43 dailycaller.com
47 47 NYC Official Took Food Stamps For Bribes Former New York City social services official Harry Fletcher will spend three years behind bars for giving food stamp benefits to ineligible people in exchange for bribes, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). “As he admitted in court, Harry Fletcher set up a scheme to receive bribes for providing illegitimate benefits,” Manhattan U. S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a DOJ statement. “By doing so, he didn’t just take advantage of New York City’s social services system, he abused some of the neediest and least fortunate in the city.” U. S. District Judge Kevin Duffy Wednesday sentenced Fletcher in Manhattan federal court for handing $240,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to two landlords and other unnamed participants who in return gave him more than $20,000. The SNAP recipients — ineligible because they lived outside New York City or earned too much money — also face charges in the scheme that lasted from 2009 to 2013, according to the DOJ. The DOJ did not elaborate on the status of those charges against the other unnamed individuals, or say whether Fletcher resigned or was fired. (RELATED: Democratic Lawmaker Indicted On Food Stamp Fraud Charges) Federal taxpayers fund SNAP and local officials administer the benefits. As an eligibility specialist, Fletcher interviewed SNAP program applicants and reviewed applicants’ documentation to determine their eligibility. He approached the two landlords in 2009, and the landlords recruited other people for the scheme, the DOJ said. Follow Kathryn on Twitter Send tips to [email protected] . Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected]. 2016-07-30 05:43 dailycaller.com
48 MS-13 Just Got Hit Hard By The Police Salvadoran police walloped Transnational criminal organization (TCO) MS- 13 by picking up five of the group’s top operatives Thursday, including its money man who pretends to be an Evangelical pastor. MS-13 is a notoriously violent street gang that began in Los Angeles in the 1980s. Central Americans migrants fleeing violence in their countries, mostly Salvadorans and Hondurans, formed the gang to have a community in the U. S. Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to Daily Caller news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Salvadoran Attorney General Douglas Meléndez said when announcing the major busts that Piwa, “is the brains, he manages the finances of MS-13, he is who collects what the gang makes from extortion, decides what guns to buy, drugs, he has the power to name zone leaders in the criminal structure.” In 2015, the Central American country endured almost one murder per hour. El Salvador is enduring a long-running gang war between MS-13 and its rival, the 18th Street Gang. The gang is known for its use of large tattoos which they have throughout their bodies. MS-13 has a large presence throughout the United States with the Washington D. C. metro area and Los Angeles metro area being large operational hubs on the East and West Coast respectively. Follow JP on Twitter Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].
2016-07-30 05:42 Foreign Affairs dailycaller.com
49 The Great Smyrna Fire Reverend Jennings and the Hand of God Part 14 of 14 on Islamic Doctrines By Mike Scruggs- By the end of Sunday, September 10, 1922, The Turkish Army had murdered the elderly Greek Archbishop of Smyrna, Chrysostomos, and exterminated most of the inhabitants and refugees in the Armenian “quarter” of Smyrna. The well orchestrated slaughter of perhaps 25,000 Armenians was according to the usual Jihadic pattern of looting, raping, and killing, which was established by Muhammad and documented in Islam’s most sacred tests. Also as usual, they spared the prettier women and girls for the Turkish Army and later sale as sex slaves. On Monday, the looting, rapine, and killing was extended to the larger Greek quarter, which was now crowded with Greek refugees fleeing the advance of the Turks. Many hid in homes, churches, schools, and other buildings. Eight hundred Christians who had taken refuge in the Catholic Cathedral were dragged out and massacred. In the streets and homes, the same pattern of looting, rapine, and killing proceeded. Twenty women who had fled for safety to the home of a British citizen were raped and then killed. A full account of such wanton savagery would take many articles. The slaughter in the Greek quarter of Smyrna seemed to peak late on Tuesday, but the worst was yet to come. When the wind turned away from the Turkish quarter, sometime after noon, on Wednesday, Turkish soldiers began to spread gasoline and kerosene in tin cans on the homes and streets of all but the Turkish and Jewish quarter, starting with the Armenian quarter, which had already been partially burned. They used rags, sticks, and small bombs to help spread the fire, which quickly spread downhill toward the quay. The small Jewish quarter was too near the Turkish quarter to fire and was also protected by Italian Marines. Within four hours, the fire was raging over two-thirds of Smyrna across a two-mile front and was approaching the buildings on the 300-yard-wide quay. Most of the seaworthy civilian boats in the harbor had already departed for the Greek Island of Chios, loaded with fleeing families and their most necessary belongings. The only hope for rescue from the fire and the Turks were the 21 Allied ships in harbor, whose orders forbade them to take any but their own nationals. The foreign nationals were already queuing at the ships, and thousands of Greeks and the remaining Armenians were filling up the quay hoping to be taken on an Allied ship. One of them was a resourceful 16-year-old Greek boy named Aristotle Onassis. The fire was so hot that it forced the Allied ships to pull back 250 yards from the quay. Meanwhile an estimated throng of 500,000 was caught between the raging tongues of fire and dense clouds of smoke and the water, while the Turks guarded the ends of the quay. According to a representative of an American tobacco company, quoted by Edward H. Bierstadt, author of The Great Betrayal, published in 1924: “So tightly was the great throng packed on the quay that when one died he could not fall, but continued to stand upright supported perforce by his fellows.” Into this already dreadful situation, squads of Turkish soldiers darted in and took away ten or twenty women and made off with them for whatever fate. Meanwhile the Allied ships began to take on their nationals. But they had orders to take none but their own nationals. Small boats and swimmers were pushed away. Only the most distant Italian destroyer was hauling swimmers aboard. Night after night, the Allied warships threw their searchlights on the women screaming for protection. It took the fire about four days to die out. The Turks had never tried to put it out. According to Dr. Esther Lovejoy, who interviewed many eye witnesses after she arrived on September 24, “One could constantly hear the screams and moans and shrieks of these poor women and girls moving up and down the quay…. There was no retreat from that position. If they tried to go back through the ruins of the city they would probably have lost their lives…The quay became a reeking sewer.” The crews of American, British, French, and Italian ships in the harbor were growing extremely agitated by not being able to help the pleading refugees. The ships’ bands played tunes to drown out the enervating screams. Little mercies of hidden stowaways and picking up more swimmers began to increase. Finally, the officers of a British battleship persuaded their captain that the honor of Britain and the Royal Navy would be forever stained, if they did not go against standing orders and rescue the Christians from this Turkish atrocity. He commanded the battleship and his accompanying cruisers and destroyers: “Away all boats.” More than 20,000 were rescued from the quay. French ships screening their boarding passengers allowed anyone who could speak a word of French, no matter how bad the accent, to come aboard as French citizens with no questions asked. Among others, they took aboard an Armenian mother and her eight children. There were many Armenian girls in British and American missionary schools, and they were taught French, which turned out to be a blessed providence. According to dispatches on September 14-15 between three U. S. destroyers and George Horton, U. S. Consul-General in Smyrna, a total of 1,950 refugees were crowded into these destroyers and delivered safely to Greek ports. This may have been contrary to official State Department and Navy orders. Eventually, 12 American destroyers would take part in the rescue. Mustafa Kemal gave an ultimatum that all Christian males between 15 and 50, still in Smyrna by September 30 would be taken to the interior to rebuild Turkish villages destroyed by the Greek Army. Everyone knew exactly what this meant: a long march, hard labor, and then a bullet, bayonet, or the edge of a sword. Rev. Asa Jennings arrived in Smyrna with his wife and three children in late August to be Assistant YMCA Director. He was an ordained minister of the Methodist Church, who had given up his pulpit in upstate New York to pursue an administrative career. He was a small, frail man with occasional health problems, just approaching his forty-fifth birthday. Although physically unimposing, he was very likable, spirited, and could muster an authoritative manner when the occasion demanded. He was deeply touched by the agony he saw all around him. Even his suburban home life was disturbed by the Turks burning wagon-load after wagon-load of bodies nearby, spreading a terrible stench. He felt like he wanted to do more than hand out bread and bandages, so he began to pray—for rescue ships. Through his friends on the American destroyer Edsall, he was already enquiring of every steamer in the harbor, if they would take refugees. On Friday, September 15, two days after the fire had broken out, and was still burning, Acting Secretary of State William Phillips cabled Admiral Bristol and directed him in certain and commanding terms to develop a rescue plan with Britain, France, and Italy to aid refugees in Smyrna. Moreover, Jennings was able to persuade an Italian ship captain and the Italian Consul to approve using a large cargo ship to take 2,000 refugees to the Greek port of Mytiline. He accompanied the refugees and found that the Greek Navy’s 20 troop ships were there. He immediately began to negotiate with the Greek Navy and by radio with the Greek Cabinet to have them pick up refugees in Smyrna. Somehow he was made an acting Greek Admiral and was initially given six transports for the task. Kemal for some reason extended his deadline to October 8. By October 8, Jennings, now with 50 ships, had succeeded in rescuing over 250,000 refugees. Another 250,000 were rescued by Allied ships responding to his initiative and leadership. Meanwhile, Mustafa Kemal had apparently become convinced that exporting Greeks accomplished his purpose of purifying Turkey of Christian minorities, while keeping the good will of the Allied powers. Despite the miraculous rescue of many thousands, however, the genocidal Jihad against Christian minorities in Smyrna was appalling. At least 100,000 died in the looting, rapine, and slaughter in the Armenian and Greek quarters of Smyrna. Approximately 160,000 men were marched off to the interior of Turkey for hard labor followed by extermination. Estimates of those dying as a result of the fire range from 10,000 to 100,000, with the low estimates being Turkish propaganda or U. S. State Department cover- up. Admiral Bristol’s original telegram to the State Department claimed that less than 2,000 died as a result of the fire. Based on the books of Bierstadt, Horton, and Dobkin, I would go with the higher number of 100,000, bringing the total to 360,000. Rutgers University has estimated that the total number of Greek civilians killed in the 1919 to 1922 genocide was 1.5 million. Another 1.5 million refugees were settled in Greece. In addition, about 43,000 Greek soldiers were died in the Greco- Turkish War of 1919 to 1922. According to League of Nations reports, 50,000 Greek and Armenian Christian girls were sold into sex-slavery. The non-Muslim population of Turkey dropped from 19.1 percent in 1914 to 2.5 percent in 1927 and is now less than 0.3 percent. “Democide” scholar Dr. Rudolph Rummel estimates that from 1900 to 1923 various Turkish regimes killed from 3.5 to 4.3 million Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, and other Christians. On December 27, 1927, the Greek Government awarded its highest civilian honor, the Golden Cross of St. Xavier, and its highest war honor, the Medal of Military Merit, to Asa K. Jennings of Utica, New York. About the author: Mike Scruggs Author and Columnist a.k.a. Leonard M. Scruggs Mike Scruggs is the author of two books: The Un-Civil War: Shattering the Historical Myths; and Lessons from the Vietnam War: Truths the Media Never Told You, and over 600 articles on military history, national security, intelligent design, genealogical genetics, immigration, current political affairs, Islam, and the Middle East. He holds a BS degree from the University of Georgia and an MBA from Stanford University. A former USAF intelligence officer and Air Commando, he is a decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War, and holds the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, and Air Medal. He is a retired First Vice President for a major national financial services firm and former Chairman of the Board of a classical Christian school. His viewpoint is unapologetically Christian, conservative, and patriotic. He has been a Republican County Chairman in two Southern states and remains an active participant in church, political, and veterans’ affairs. http://www.thetribunepapers.com/category/columnists/scruggs/ http://www.universalmediainc.org/books.htm
2016-07-30 05:18 By Mike www.thetribunepapers.com
50 UN Security Council agrees to send police to Burundi The UN Security Council has authorised the deployment of a UN police force to Burundi to try to quell violence and human rights abuses in the country. The council backed a French-drafted resolution to send up to 228 police for an initial period of a year. Burundi earlier said it would accept no more than 50 police officers. More than 400 people have been killed in unrest since President Pierre Nkurunziza said he would run for a third term in office last April. More than 200,000 people have fled their homes. "Given an increase in violence and tension the Security Council must have eyes and ears on the ground to predict and ensure that the worst does not occur in Burundi," said French UN Ambassador Francois Delattre. "This is a strong act of preventative diplomacy," he added. The government of Burundi earlier warned it would agree to no more than 50 UN police officers. Diplomats are now negotiating how to implement the UN Security Council's resolution. Although both Burundi's opposition and government forces are ethnically mixed, some fear that the violence could descend into a repeat of the genocidal killings which the country has previously experienced. President Nkurunziza is the former leader of a Hutu rebel group which battled a Tutsi-dominated army for many years until he came to power in 2005 as part of a peace deal.
2016-07-30 05:24 www.bbc.co.uk
51 Why young Africans are swapping the office for the farm Farming has an unglamorous image across Africa. But this might be changing - the BBC's Sophie Ikenye met some young professionals who packed in their office jobs and moved back to the family farm. Six years ago Emmanuel Koranteng, 33, gave up his job as an accountant in the US and bought a one-way ticket to Ghana. He now has a successful business growing pineapples in a village one-and- a-half hours away from the capital, Accra. He says that even when he was far away from the farm, it was always in his thoughts. Across the continent, Dimakatso Nono, 34, also left her job in finance to return to the family farm in South Africa. She left her lucrative job five years ago and moved from Johannesburg to manage her father's 2,000 acre farm three hours away in Free State Province. She says she wanted to make an impact. "I knew that if I came to assist my father, I would be able to actually make meaningful change. " She began by counting his cows. "At the beginning, we were not sure about what the animals were doing and where they were in the fields, so for me it was important to ensure that every single day, every activity that we do is recorded. " Life on the farm has not been easy. This year's drought across Southern Africa put an end to her apple, maize and sunflower crops. So does she ever have days when she thinks she made the wrong move away from the corporate world? "No, not at all, not for me. "I'm not always on top of the world but on such days I appreciate the fact that if need to rest or recuperate, there's no better place than here where you have the nature to support you. " But both young farmers have found it difficult to get funding for equipment. For this reason, Mr Koranteng has decided to stay small. "If you are small and you don't have funding, don't try to do anything big. It's all about being able to manage and produce quality because if you produce quality, it sells itself," he says. But there is to be made money in farming. A World Bank report from 2013 estimates that Africa's farmers and agribusinesses could create a trillion-dollar food market by 2030 if they were able to access to more capital, electricity and better technology. "Agriculture has a bright future in Africa," says Havard University technology expert Calestous Juma. But to encourage more young people to return to the land, he suggests a simple solution: A name-change. "The best way to attract young people into farming is to define it as agribusiness - this entails making agriculture entrepreneurial and technology-driven. And it also means making the finished product, rather than just growing crops and selling them. "The focus should be on the full value chain - from farm to fork, not just production," he says. That is exactly what Claudius Kurtna is doing. He farms fish in western Kenya. But he doesn't sell those fish. Instead he makes them into high-protein, high-energy biscuits. The 28-year-old entrepreneur wanted to make a product which had both a long shelf life and high nutritional value. The product has been certified by Kenya's Bureau of Standards and local schools have ordered his biscuits. "The motivation behind this was nutrition, for children in remote places from poor backgrounds, even refugees. Anywhere you can't get fish in its natural state," he says. These biscuits aren't made by hand, but by special machines, which are costly. That is likely to be true for any farmer who wants to copy this model. So for Mr Juma, in order to attract more younger people to farming, you need to provide funding with conditions they can meet. "Agriculture needs the same types of credit and risk-reducing incentives that are given to industrialists. "Young people are not averse to farming. "They are averse to risk. They are human. "
2016-07-30 05:24 www.bbc.co.uk
52 Online Payments When dealing with the fast paced ever fluctuating foreign exchange market, it can be extremely beneficial to speak to a currency expert. You will be assigned you own personal account manager who can guide you through the transfer process and offer specialist guidance on your currency requirements.
2016-07-30 05:23 www.cnnmoneytransfers.com
53 Arrest of Egypt FGM doctor Raslan Fadl welcomed Campaigners have welcomed the arrest of Egypt's first doctor to have been convicted of carrying out female genital mutilation (FGM). Raslan Fadl was sentenced in January 2015 over the death of Souheir al-Bataa, a 13-year-old girl who was subjected to the illegal procedure. However, he avoided arrest and was said to have carried on working as a doctor. Domestic and international pressure apparently prompted Fadl to surrender, campaign group Equality Now said. FGM was banned in Egypt in 2008 but the country still has one of the highest rates of the practice in the world. More than 90% of girls and women aged between 15 and 59 in the country have undergone the procedure in recent years, according to UN estimates. Suad Abu-Dayyeh, Middle East and North Africa Consultant for Equality Now, said Egypt must adopt a "zero tolerance policy" towards FGM, which includes taking swift action against the health workers who carry it out. Unless this is done, she said, "Egyptian girls will continue to face this extreme human rights abuse". Fadl was convicted in January 2015 over the death of al-Bataa, who was from a small farming community on the outskirts of the Nile Delta city of Mansoura. He was sentenced to two years in prison for manslaughter, as well as a further three months for performing FGM. However, he reportedly reached a deal with the girl's family that means he will no longer have to serve the manslaughter sentence - and is only liable for the three-month term for FGM. During the trial, prosecutors argued that al-Bataa had been forced to undergo FGM by her father. Fadl denied carrying out the procedure, saying he had only treated her for warts and that her death had been caused by an allergic reaction to penicillin. Both he and Suhair's father were cleared of any wrongdoing at an initial trial. But prosecutors appealed against the verdict and it was overturned in November 2015. Fadl's clinic was ordered to close for a year. Suhair's father was meanwhile given a three-month suspended sentence. However, Fadl continued practising intermittently after the conviction, according to Equality Now and a partner agency, the Center for Egyptian Women's Legal Assistance (CEWLA). Following further pressure, his medical license was revoked earlier this year. Typically FGM is carried out on girls aged between nine and 13 - but there are victims as young as six, anti-FGM campaigners say.
2016-07-30 05:23 www.bbc.co.uk
54 Are female leaders disadvantaged by media bias? Hillary Clinton has shattered a glass ceiling by becoming the first woman to be nominated for president by a major party in the US. She's now looking to shatter one more and become the United States' first female president. But women are still fighting an uphill battle for equality. Women are typically paid less, are under-represented in boardrooms and, as Marissa Mayer, Yahoo's chief executive recently pointed out, face bias in the media. Yahoo recently announced a deal with Verizon to sell its core operating business for $4.8bn ($3.2bn), but on Monday Ms Mayer took a moment to address what she calls "gender-charged reporting". She told the Financial Times: "I've tried to be gender blind and believe tech is a gender neutral zone but do think there has been gender-charged reporting. "We all see the things that only plague women leaders, like articles that focus on their appearance, like Hillary Clinton sporting a new pantsuit. "I think all women are aware of that, but I had hoped in 2015 and 2016 that I would see fewer articles like that. It's a shame. " She's certainly not the first to make these points, but with the potential for the first woman president in the US and the UK now being led by its second female prime minister, the media will undoubtedly be covering female leaders even more. At the heart of Ms Mayer's comments is the idea that women are judged in the media on their appearance, attitudes or families and that this in turn leads to judgements about their leadership. Researchers at Kellogg business school in Illinois found that companies which appoint female chief executives and receive a lot of media attention see a decline in their share price. Companies that appoint female bosses and don't receive a lot of attention are more likely to see a rise in their share price. Ned Smith, one of the study's authors says this isn't necessarily sexism - it's speculation. Investors worry that others will react negatively to the news, so try to sell their shares before the stock price falls, creating a chain reaction that causes the stock to drop. But when a company receives a lot of media coverage for appointing a male chief, its stock usually gets a boost. Prof Smith said it doesn't appear that the coverage of new female chiefs is naturally biased, but because of how rare female chief executives are - just 1.5% of US public companies are headed by women - they receive three times more media coverage. "As a society we want to know that companies are addressing this imbalance, but on the other hand, if that leads to speculative trading where investors assume everyone else is biased and trades accordingly, companies need to be aware of what might happen," says Prof Smith. While his study focused on coverage of chief executive appointments it's also worth considering the impact of media coverage women executives receive throughout their time as leaders. For example, after Ms Mayer announced her second pregnancy , the amount of coverage of her and Yahoo spiked and the company's share price sagged. "As an investor you have to interpret the event and the meaning of all the buzz around that event, along with what others will think of it," says Prof Smith. To take a different example, not too long after being appointed General Motor's chief executive in 2014, Mary Barra was asked in an interview whether she could be both a good mother and good boss and whether being a mother allowed her to give General Motors a softer image as it emerged from bankruptcy. One month later, when Mark Fields was appointed as the head of Ford, no journalist asked him whether his parenting skills would suffer as a result of his job. Of course this isn't just a business issue. When Theresa May took over as Prime Minister, British newspapers ran wild with stories about her shoes. A line in the Telegraph newspaper read: "Yes, Mrs May works a good shoe… but she doesn't flirt or use feminine wiles to get her way. " Hillary Clinton has faced similar scrutiny over wearing pantsuits and for "shouting" in her speeches. A 2015 study commissioned by women's rights charity The Fawcett Society found that female politicians in the UK are often depicted more negatively than their male counterparts. "There is no reason what a woman was wearing should be a headline in a story over her achievements," says Polly Trenow, senior policy and campaigns officer for the Fawcett Society. So, how should the problem be fixed? Should companies with female heads keep a low profile? Does the public need to change its perception of female leadership, or should the media make a more conscious effort to become, as Ms Mayer put it, "gender blind"? "The responsibility lies firmly at the door of the media, who should work to ensure that women's achievement and not just their looks are celebrated," says Ms Trenow. With Mrs May and Ms Clinton, the media may have a chance to redeem itself. But in Britain, parliament is still only 29% female, while the US Congress is even more gender imbalanced, just 19% of its politicians are female. Only 4% of Fortune 500 companies - the largest corporations in the US - are run by women. All of which means that coverage of female leaders overall - biased or not - will still be the exception and not the rule.
2016-07-30 05:24 By Zoe www.bbc.co.uk
55 'God forgot Afghanistan' In the early hours of Friday morning, the hashtag #enlightenment began trending in Afghanistan and briefly in Pakistan. It quickly gained traction, and at the time of writing, more than 380,000 tweets had been sent out using the tag. Tragic events in Afghanistan's capital Kabul, from the previous week, had spilled over into social media. "Enlightenment" refers to the Hazara Enlightenment Movement. They represent Afghanistan's third-largest ethnic group. They practise Shia Islam, in predominantly Sunni Afghanistan and Pakistan. On Saturday 16 July, 80 people were killed and about 230 wounded by a double suicide attack on marchers in Kabul. The majority of them were from the country's Shia ethnic Hazara minority. The protest, which was described by the White House as "peaceful", was over a new power line, which many members of the Hazara minority said bypassed provinces where they lived. Some tweets reflected the violence of last Saturday. While others felt the conversation had to be widened to the rights of the Hazara group. Some users of the #enlightenment tag said that they would be launching an "online revolution" to raise more awareness on conditions some Hazaras are said to experience. Hazaras are thought to originally come from Central Asia, and mostly live in the highlands of central Afghanistan (living in rural areas means they are said to have little access to public services). According to legend , they are the descendants of Genghis Khan and his soldiers, who invaded Afghanistan in the 13th Century. They are one of the ethnic minorities recognised in the new Afghan constitution and have been given full rights to Afghan citizenship, since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001. Hazaras gained seats in President Hamid Karzai's initial cabinet, and the only representative of their main political party, Hizb-e Wahdat, gained the position of vice president. However, according to NGO Minority Rights , Hazaras face "persistent discrimination in many areas of the country. Hazaras are concerned about the rising power of the warlords, who they feel pose a direct threat to their community. There have also been increasing ethnic tensions and incidents of violent clashes between Hazaras and nomadic Kuchis over access to land in recent years. " The Taliban condemned Saturday's attack, which the Sunni militant Islamic State group claimed. Tadamichi Yamamoto, head of the UN assistance mission, said the attackers had deliberately targeted a large number of civilians. Blog by Megha Mohan Next story: The campaign that 'shot' Mark Zuckerberg in the face A mocked-up photo of Facebook's CEO with pellet gun wounds is used to highlight Kashmir and the company's actions there. READ MORE You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending , and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending .
2016-07-30 05:24 By BBC www.bbc.co.uk
56 San Diego policeman shot dead A police officer has died and another remains in hospital after both were shot in the US city of San Diego. The officers were members of a gang suppression unit and were shot by unknown gunmen at a traffic stop on Thursday evening. The officer killed was later named as Jonathan DeGuzman. The second officer is expected to survive. The shooting follows earlier attacks on police this month in the US cities of Dallas and Baton Rouge. The officer who died was a 16-year veteran and the father of two young children. The wounded officer was named as Wade Irwin. An injured suspect was found on Friday in a ravine and has been taken to hospital. Later, police surrounded a home where another suspect was believed to be holed up. San Diego's mayor, Kevin Faulconer, said: "Violence against the men and women who wear the badge is violence against us all. I ask all San Diegans and all people across our nation to join together in support of our officers who courageously protect our communities. We need them and they need us. " Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee whose campaign includes a vow to "make America safe again" tweeted about the incident, saying: "It is only getting worse. People want LAW AND ORDER! " America and the psychology of fear
2016-07-30 05:24 www.bbc.co.uk
57 In Pictures: Watching Hillary Clinton make history Hilary Clinton has become the first woman ever to become a majory party nominee for US president. The BBC travelled to the Women's National Democratic Club, founded in Washington DC in 1922, to capture the scene as Clinton accepted the Democratic nomination. This is a historic event for women across the country, but on one leafy street in Washington DC, it has a special significance. New Hampshire Avenue is home to the Women's National Democratic Club, situated in a 19th Century mansion. Since the organisation was founded in 1922, members have been campaigning tirelessly for female representation in government. On a rain-lashed night, they witnessed a historic first. Come November, Democrats in the US could be celebrating their first female president. Elaine Newman, originally from Chicago, is 91 years old. She has waited her whole life to witness a woman rise to the top of American politics. "I have been involved in women's rights many times in my life, but I have never seen this," she said. Newman, who is the daughter of Russian and Ukrainian immigrants, stayed up until the early hours of the morning to watch Clinton accept the Democratic party's nomination via a projector screen in the women's club. "I have not seen as much change as I would like. We have a way to go," she said. Nikardi Jallah is a public health student at George Washington University, in Washington DC. Originally from the Netherlands, she moved to the US in 2001 and recently gained citizenship. "This is my first time voting as an American," she said. "It's really exciting. I think US politics is a mess. But I'm loving this election! " Three generations of the Schwartz family gathered to watch the nomination, including young Ilona Schwartz. Her grandmother, Karen, was in the same year as Clinton at Yale Law School. "We were in a class together, but were never close," she said. "The only thing I remember is that she was dating a boy my friend was also dating! " Dr Gail Anderson Holness is a former criminal lawyer and is currently a minister. She believes Clinton's nomination is a victory for African-American women. "First there was Obama, and now Hillary," she said. "This is big history. It's exhilarating. An African American and then a woman. Girls will watch this and say, 'This could be me'. " The Women's National Democratic Club has members from 22 states and is one of the oldest female political organisations in the country. Members come to listen to guest speakers and to engage in debate. Anna Fierst is the great-granddaughter of Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady to Franklin D Roosevelt and pioneer of American feminism. Eleanor played an important part in the formation of the UN Commission on Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "Everyone is kind of giddy," said Fierst, referring to Clinton's nomination. "It's been almost 100 years since we got the vote. But who's counting. " If Clinton wins the presidential election on 8 November, she will join a host of women occupying powerful positions in the world, including Theresa May, British Prime Minister, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, and Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF. Gender inequality in politics is still an issue. Only 22% of all national parliamentarians are women as of August 2015. Elizabeth Joyce is long-term member of the Women's National Democratic Club. "It's ridiculous it's taken this long! " she said. "So many years of hard work. We never gave up. This is a huge moment for America. " Hillary Clinton did not accept her nomination until 10pm, following three days and nights of speeches at the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia. Many supporters at the women's club tuned in for all four nights of the event, staying past midnight. "I am so proud," said Patricia Fitzgerald. "We're all hoping it's going to turn out right for the election. The alternative, well, it's scary. " Between now and the presidential vote on 8 November, Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, and Clinton will battle it out in the public eye, debating and campaigning throughout the US.
2016-07-30 05:24 By Charlie www.bbc.co.uk
58 Ottawa funeral after police arrest row Hundreds of people have attended the funeral of a a mentally ill black man in Ottawa who died following a confrontation with Canadian police. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson was among those who came to pay last tributes to Abdirahman Abdi at a city mosque. Mr Abdi, 37, a Somali immigrant, died on Monday, a day after being arrested for allegedly fondling a woman. A video has emerged showing him bleeding and handcuffed during the arrest. The case is being investigated. In a statement, Mr Abdi's family said he was a "wonderful son, amazing brother and kind-hearted uncle". The family said that "what happened to him that Sunday wasn't fair at all and shouldn't be justified by any means" and "we all have many questions". He arrived in Canada in 2009, according to his brother Abdiaziz. The circumstances of Mr Abdi's death are now being investigated by Ontario's Special Investigation Unit. The case has sparked a debate about race relations in Canada - a nation that is widely seen as being tolerant. Ottawa's police chief Charles Bordeleau said on Friday that there had been "a number of incidents" involving his officers, including taunts, since the death of Mr Abdi.
2016-07-30 05:24 www.bbc.co.uk
59 Australia plans new co-ordinates to fix sat-nav gap Australia is to shift its longitude and latitude to address a gap between local co-ordinates and those from global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). Local co-ordinates, used to produce maps and measurements, and global ones differ by more than 1m. The body responsible for the change said it would help the development of self-driving cars, which need accurate location data to navigate. Australia moves about 7cm north annually because of tectonic movements. Modern satellite systems provide location data based on global lines of longitude and latitude, which do not move even if the continents on Earth shift. However, many countries produce maps and measurements with the lines of longitude and latitude fixed to their local continent. "If the lines are fixed, you can put a mark in the ground, measure its co- ordinate, and it will be the same co-ordinate in 20 years," explained Dan Jaksa of Geoscience Australia. "It's the classical way of doing it. " Because of the movement of the Earth's tectonic plates, these local co- ordinates drift apart from the Earth's global co-ordinates over time. "If you want to start using driverless cars, accurate map information is fundamental," said Mr Jaksa. "We have tractors in Australia starting to go around farms without a driver, and if the information about the farm doesn't line up with the co-ordinates coming out of the navigation system there will be problems. " The Geocentric Datum of Australia, the country's local co-ordinate system, was last updated in 1994. Since then, Australia has moved about 1.5 metres north. So on 1 January 2017, the country's local co-ordinates will also be shifted further north - by 1.8m. The over-correction means Australia's local co-ordinates and the Earth's global co-ordinates will align in 2020. At that point a new system, which can take changes over time into account, will be implemented. "We used the old plate fixed system to make life simple, but we don't want to do this adjustment every so often," said Mr Jaksa. "Once we have a system that can deal with changes over time, then everybody in the world could be on that same system. "
2016-07-30 05:24 By Chris www.bbc.co.uk
60 Folkmoot Festival Events in Asheville Folkmoot, North Carolina’s International Folk Festival, is coming to Asheville for multiple exciting events! The first event taking place in Asheville is on Wednesday, July 27th at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheater, 90 Gay St, at 7;00pm. This performance features five talented international groups sharing their culture through dance, traditional costumes and music. Children/Student tickets are $5 and Adult tickets are $16. Tickets can be purchased by phone, (828) 452-2997 or online, www.folkmootusa.org . Experience the first-ever Folkmoot Parade to be held in downtown Asheville at Pack Square Park on Friday, July 29 at 4:00pm. This will be a festive occasion that is FREE and fun for the entire family! After the parade, at 7:00pm on July 29th, all of the international groups will join the Stuart Family Band and the Dixie Darlins for a performance at the Diana Wortham Theatre, 2 S Pack Square, Asheville, NC. Tickets can be purchased through the Diana Wortham Theatre by phone (828)-257-4530 or online at www.dwtheatre.com . An exciting new addition to this year’s festival is an International Dance Party at the Orange Peel, 101 Biltmore Ave. Join DJ Oso Rey and all of the international troupes for music and dance on Saturday, July 30. Doors open at 8:00pm and the dance party starts at 9:00pm. This event is for ages 16+ and tickets are $15. Folkmoot USA, North Carolina’s International Festival, is a two-week celebration of the world’s cultural heritage through folk music and dance. Held each summer throughout the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina, Folkmoot features performers sharing their culture through colorful, authentic, and original reproduction costumes, lively dance, and traditional music. The Folkmoot Friendship Center is located at 112 Virginia Avenue in Waynesville. For information about the festival call, (828) 452-2997 or email [email protected] .
2016-07-30 05:24 www.thetribunepapers.com
61 Tokyo's ill-tempered election Tokyo is preparing to vote for its next governor, one of the biggest jobs in Japan, which this term comes with the added pressure of overseeing the 2020 Olympics preparations. But as Mariko Oi reports, the election campaign has been marred by insult-slinging and allegations of sexism. "Traitor". "Too much make-up". "Dressed as a woman but a hawkish man". These are some of the comments which have been flung in what has become one of the most negative campaigns of recent years in Japan. Twenty-one people will be running for Tokyo's top job in Sunday's election and former defence and environment minister Yuriko Koike is currently considered to be in the lead. She would become Tokyo's first female governor if elected. But unusually, Ms Koike's party - the ruling Liberal Democrat Party (LDP) - has chosen not to back her, in favour of Hiroya Masuda, a former governor of the Iwate prefecture between 1995 and 2007, who isn't a party member. The influential local LDP leadership, who is furious with Ms Koike's decision to announce her candidacy without consulting them, has even warned members they risk being ousted if they endorse anyone but Mr Masuda. Ms Koike's lead in the polls has annoyed LDP grandees, with former Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara, the father of the local LDP federation chairman, telling voters: "We cannot leave Tokyo to a woman with too much make-up. " Her supporters were disgusted by what they called a sexist remark, but, after decades in Japan's male-dominated political theatre, Ms Koike laughed it off: "I am used to it. " Harsh comments have also come from other female politicians, however, with former Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima saying that she wouldn't support Ms Koike simply because she was a woman. "It's meaningless when she is dressed as a woman but inside is a hawkish man," she said. This comment drew criticism - because it was seen to be insensitive as Ms Koike had her ovaries removed in 1998 because of fibroids. For journalist Shuntaro Torigoe - running as the joint candidate for several opposition parties - it has not been his gender but his age and health that have been publicly scrutinised. He is 76 and a cancer survivor. While also among the front-runners, his critics say his scrawled handwriting and at times rambling and contradictory speeches are proof he is too old and frail to lead. Some, including doctors, have even asked if he might have dementia. Mr Torigoe has said he is fit to govern and is simply being discriminated against because of his successful battle against the disease. And he has also faced one of the strongest insults possible in Japan, when Mr Ishihara called him a traitor to the country. This was because Mr Torigoe previously questioned whether it would be worth protecting the uninhabited Senkaku islands - also claimed by China, which calls them the Diaoyu - if they were attacked. Mr Ishihara, who had initiated the national purchase of the islands while governor in 2012, was infuriated by the suggestion. What appears to be affecting Mr Torigoe's popularity most, however, is an accusation that he made an inappropriate approach to women. Mr Torigoe is suing two tabloid magazines for libel, but his decision not to hold a press conference about the accusation, as well as his last-minute cancellation to appear on a debate programme, has led to criticism that he is contradicting his lifelong pursuit of a free press. As they go to the polls on Sunday, one of the main concerns in the minds of Tokyoites is the ballooning budget for the 2020 Olympics, which have also been hit by other problems including allegations of corruption and plagiarism of original logo designs. Another major issue which the candidates are urged to seriously tackle is the lack of childcare, which would allow mothers to go back to work. But above all, transparency is crucial in many voters' minds after two past governors, Naoki Inose and Yoichi Masuzoe , resigned over money scandals. Whoever gets elected on Sunday will serve a four-year term - and could be re-elected - but it is unclear if the next election will take place before, during or after the city's second Olympic Games in 2020. What voters want is stability and to avoid a revolving door at City Hall.
2016-07-30 05:23 By Mariko www.bbc.co.uk
62 Dusseldorf residents told to pay for Nazi-era road Homeowners on a street in Germany have been told they must foot the bill for their road's construction - even though it's been there for nearly 80 years. Residents on Auf'm Rott, in suburban Dusseldorf, went to court after city authorities told them pay an average of 10,000 euros ($11,000; £8,400) per household for what looked like a long-established road, Die Welt reports . The bills included a conversion from the Nazi-era Reichsmark currency into euros for the original road surface, first laid in 1937, which is being dubbed "Hitler asphalt" by the German media. The figures were also adjusted for inflation. While homeowners were perplexed, a court has now confirmed that they must cough up the cash. It determined that while construction began in the 1930s, the road was only officially completed in 2009 when pavements were added. For the intervening period it was considered to be under development. In Germany, residents have to pay a "development contribution" to the local authority for things like new roads, cycle paths and street lighting. According to Die Welt, the council says people weren't required to contribute towards road construction under the Third Reich, so the costs are simply being billed now. The court agreed, saying that the length of time involved doesn't matter. "There is no statute of limitations in relation to the construction work," says Franziska Hoette, a judge at Dusseldorf's Administrative Court. So, Auf'm Rott's current residents will be shelling out for the "Hitler asphalt", streetlamps dating back to 1956, a sewer from the 1970s, and pavements and greenery added in 2009. But despite taking a sizeable financial hit, the residents appear to have accepted the court's verdict. Spiegel Online reports that they've withdrawn their complaint, saying: "If this is how it is, then this is how it is. " Next story: Booze ban for China region's civil servants Use #NewsfromElsewhere to stay up-to-date with our reports via Twitter.
2016-07-30 05:23 By News www.bbc.co.uk
63 Yahoo Appoints IMS as Sales Partner in Spanish-Speaking Latin America --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (NASDAQ:YHOO) has appointed (IMS), a joint venture with and a leading digital marketing and communications company, to help drive advertising sales in Spanish-speaking . drives value for advertisers in by helping them engage with consumers online through the combination of data, content and technology. Fusing valuable data insights from 165 billion daily data events, provides high-value, high-performing solutions to help advertisers target, reach and engage relevant audiences. The core offerings IMS will provide on behalf of to clients in include: "We are excited to partner with IMS based on their leadership, sales expertise, and their deep understanding of the Latin American digital media landscape," says , Yahoo's Vice President, & US Hispanic. "Latin America is an important market for and we are committed to helping advertisers leverage our ad platforms and data to effectively reach their marketing objectives. " "We are delighted to partner with , such an iconic digital player, throughout Spanish-speaking. premium content and data-driven audience solutions drive relevance for advertisers throughout the region," said , CEO, Founder and Partner for IMS. joins IMS' roster of international brand leaders such as Twitch, EA, , Foursquare, Twitter, Waze, Spotify and LinkedIn. is a guide to digital information discovery, focused on informing, connecting, and entertaining users through its search, communications, and digital content products. By creating highly personalized experiences, helps users discover the information that matters most to them around the world -- on mobile or desktop. connects advertisers with target audiences through a streamlined advertising technology stack that combines the power of data, content, and technology. is headquartered in , and has offices located throughout the , (APAC) and the , and (EMEA) regions. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net) or the Company's blog (yahoo.tumblr.com). (IMS), a joint venture with , is a leading digital marketing and communications company that partners with fast-moving businesses seeking to expand into and within. IMS helps brands reach new levels of engagement and grow within the region through our exclusive ecosystem of commercial partnerships, creative and content solutions, and media investment and management services. Leading brands such as Twitch, EA, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Spotify, Twitter, and Waze have partnered exclusively with IMS to strengthen their presence in. IMS is headquartered in , with offices in , , , , , Panamá, , , , and. www.imscorporate.com
2016-07-30 05:20 investor.yahoo.net
64 64 Siberian heatwave releases anthrax bacillus frozen for decades Thirteen members of a community in western Siberia have been hospitalized amid an outbreak of anthrax, reports the governor's office of the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region. Over 1,599 reindeer have died from the disease since last Sunday.
2016-07-30 05:17 By Karen www.digitaljournal.com
65 BBC News Channel Britain's most-watched news channel, delivering breaking news and analysis all day, every day. The BBC News Channel is available in the UK only. Don't forget, to watch TV online as it's being broadcast, you still need a TV licence. You can send comments and pictures to the BBC News Channel by texting 61124, or emailing [email protected]
2016-07-30 05:07 www.bbc.co.uk
66 IS executes 24 civilians after seizing Syria village The Islamic State jihadist group has executed at least 24 civilians after seizing a village in northern Syria from a US- backed Kurdish-Arab alliance, a monitor said Friday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS executed 24 civilians "in the last 24 hours" after taking Buyir from the Syrian Democratic Forces. The village is located some 10 kilometres (6 miles) northwest of Manbij, a key waypoint between the Turkish border and the IS de facto capital of Raqa city. IS seized control of several villages in the countryside northwest of Manbij since launching a "fierce assault" on Thursday, according to the Observatory, which relies on sources inside Syria for its information. The SDF, backed by air strikes from a US-led coalition, launched an offensive to retake Manbij from IS on May 31. The alliance managed to enter the town but have since faced fierce opposition from the jihadists who have fought back with suicide bombers and car bombs. More than 280,000 have been killed and millions displaced in Syria's five- year conflict.
2016-07-30 05:07 By AFP www.digitaljournal.com
67 Yahoo to Live Stream Video of Second Quarter 2016 Earnings on Yahoo Finance on July 18, 2016 --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (NASDAQ:YHOO) will discuss the Company's financial results for the second quarter ended via live stream video. WHERE: The live stream will be broadcast from Yahoo's studio and will be available exclusively on Yahoo Finance at http://finance.yahoo.com/. The video will be archived after the event at https://investor.yahoo.net and will be available for 90 days following the broadcast. Yahoo is a guide to digital information discovery, focused on informing, connecting, and entertaining users through its search, communications, and digital content products. By creating highly personalized experiences, Yahoo helps users discover the information that matters most to them around the world -- on mobile or desktop. Yahoo connects advertisers with target audiences through a streamlined advertising technology stack that combines the power of Yahoo's data, content, and technology. Yahoo is headquartered in Sunnyvale, , and has offices located throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC) and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net) or the Company's blog (yahoo.tumblr.com). and Yahoo Finance are the trademarks and/or registered trademarks of All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
2016-07-30 05:07 investor.yahoo.net
68 Trump’s Darkest and ‘Most Brilliant’ Hour Donald Trump claims to be the one person who can avert the certainty of impending doom. “Nobody knows the system better than me,” he asserted in accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for president, “which is why I alone can fix it.” What does Donald Trump know that others don’t know? One thing is how to beat back a gang of hungry creditors and rebound from a self-induced financial disaster. How much is that worth? Profiled in the Wall Street Journal the day before his convention (“How the 1990s Became Donald Trump’s Personal Crucible,” July 20), Trump spoke in piteous tones about being stretched on the financial rack. In the early 1990s, his real estate empire was crumbling under the combined weight of excessive debt (some $3.4 billion) and falling real estate prices. Seeing a blind man with paper cup begging on Fifth Avenue in New York, he realized that this man, with no more than the rags on his back, had a net worth several hundred million dollars north of his own. At this point, the famous deal-maker did not try to trick the beggar (little knowing how fabulously rich he really was, in a comparative sense) into trading places. Instead, he sought personal redemption. He fought tooth and nail against the impecunious demands of the least advantaged of his creditors (not the big banks, but unsecured contractors and the like). Alas, the poor man (Trump, not the beggar) had to suffer the indignity of selling his jet and yacht and being put on a strict allowance for personal and household expenses of just $450,000 a month. “That was a terrible, horrible period,” Trump said. “All of a sudden, you’re in this position, where the world is falling around you, and it could take you down.” But Trump also called this time his “most brilliant period.” Certainly he was no sap. He absolutely refused to play the part of a soft- headed sea captain who thinks it is his duty as ship’s commander to save everyone else before saving himself. Screwing his courage to the sticking place, he battled for space on the first life boat. Speaking scornfully of those he pushed aside, he told the Journal: Trump survived and eventually prospered. In the midst of all his troubles, he dumped one wife and wooed and wed another. He gave wife #2 a dazzling engagement ring “the size of a golf ball” from the shop of a famous jeweler. The bankers controlling the monthly purse strings were stunned by this act of extravagance. Alan Pomerantz, a lawyer with a firm representing Citibank, told the Journal: Trump corroborated the story, saying: “As a celebrity when you would go out in those days, the Harry Winstons of the world would give you jewelry for the night. So maybe they were talking about that.” This seems an especially apt example of Trump’s adroitness — even as a deadbeat — in finding ways to work any kind of a confining “system” to his own advantage. Operating on borrowed time and borrowed money, he still managed to create a super-sized, if false, impression of his own “hugeness.” On a recent visit to London’s Grant Museum of Zoology, I was studying exotic marine specimens when I learned something that caused me to think of Trump’s gift of the one-night-only engagement ring in a new and humorous light. I burst into laughter, startling other visitors in the hushed museum. Here among the fishes, I thought, was some real insight into the great man’s modus operandi — both as a master brander and a wildly successful populist political leader. I was in a section of the museum with small jars preserving the remains of several pufferfish, a group that includes balloonfish, blowfish, bubblefish, and swellfish — and also the porcupine fish and (truly) the bright orange clownfish. Pufferfish are famous for their “inflatablility.” With highly elastic stomachs, they can ingest huge amounts of water and swell up to several times their normal size — causing would-be predators to flee and a larger group of smaller fish (we might assume) to stand up and clap. What could be more Trump-like? But that still begs the question of whether Trump can puff up anything more than his own persona. Can he — as he says — make America great again? As a 24/7 braggart and self-promoter with a well-known nasty streak, Trump stretches truth to the breaking point with the claim that he “joined the political arena so that the powerful can no longer beat up on people who cannot defend themselves.” All populists are pufferfish — making big promises and pretending to be more than they are. Pufferfish have dominated this electoral cycle — Bernie Sanders on the left, Trump on the right. Free college for everyone who wants it is to Sanders what promised toughness in cutting great-for-the-U. S. trade deals is to Trump — an exercise in magical thinking… the old story of hoping to get something for nothing. More fist pounding at the trade table won’t create millions of new jobs and cause incomes to rise… any more than Sanders (or Hillary Clinton as the now unchallenged Democratic Party standard bearer) can conjure up a college education for all that is both free and costless. Trump seems to have little appreciation for the real well-spring of American prosperity. America became the strongest, richest, and maybe even the happiest nation on earth as a result of unrivalled economic as well as political freedom, combined with deeply ingrained traits of individual initiative and individual responsibility. Trump may puff himself up — even to the point of becoming president of the United States. But to raise a divided and dispirited America to a new pinnacle of greatness will take more than puffery… or the fulminations of a crazily narcissistic blowhard. But who knows? Trump has surprised his critics and the traditionalists so many times before over the last 14 months. Maybe he can do it again — upon achieving high office. There are worse things that he could be than a human wrecking ball — blasting away at all of the conceits and certainties of eight years of progressive government under Barack Obama. Andrew B. Wilson, a long-time contributor to The American Spectator, lives in St. Louis.
2016-07-30 05:00 Andrew B spectator.org
69 A Thought on The Hacking of Hillary With the FBI now investigating the hacking of Hillary Clinton’s campaign as well as the DCCC, I have but one question. Could it be that the Russians didn’t understand that Donald Trump was only being sarcastic?
2016-07-30 05:00 Aaron Goldstein spectator.org
70 Russians to vote on covering up Michelangelo's David A copy of Michelangelo's David recently put on show in central St Petersburg may be dressed up because a resident objected to its nakedness. Organisers of a sculpture exhibition in the city say they'll ask residents to decide whether to cover up the 5m (16ft) plastic statue, after a local woman complained to the children's rights ombudsman that it was an eyesore and a bad influence on pupils at a nearby school, the Lenta website reports. "How could you put this bloke without any trousers on in the centre of St Petersburg, next to a school and a church? " the ombudsman's website quotes the letter as saying. "This giant spoils the city's historic appearance and warps children's souls. " Its officials apparently tried to convince the woman that Russia's former imperial capital contained many such statues and residents are accustomed to their state of undress, but to no avail. "Children are around, looking at this giant nude man. Is that normal? " she responded, and warned she'd take the matter further. She was even unfazed by school director Maksim Pratusevich's assurance that his students were "sufficiently cultured and educated" not to be shocked by the Renaissance masterpiece. Her determination may yet win out, it seems. An official of the Michelangelo - Creation of the World exhibition told the RIA-Novosti news agency it "couldn't ignore the criticism". Under the "Dress David" initiative, city residents will first be asked to suggest clothes for the statue, and will then vote in a 16-23 August poll on what to put him in, with one option being to just "keep him as he is". Next story: New app connects Russian Orthodox Church to believers Use #NewsfromElsewhere to stay up-to-date with our reports via Twitter .
2016-07-30 05:00 By News www.bbc.co.uk
71 US election 2016: Onward from the conventions The road from Cleveland to Philadelphia takes you through the Rust Belt of America, the towns where they once made steel and the hills where they mined the coal. That territory, between the two convention cities in this presidential year, is where the battle will be fiercest because that's the cradle of discontent. Two conventions over and angry in different ways. Donald Trump told Republicans that the country was being destroyed by Democrats - its jobs, its self- respect, even its spirit. But he understood what to do about it. He knew the system better than anyone else, he told them, so he alone could fix it. And he personalised the contest more sharply than any recent candidate has dared, calling Hillary Clinton corrupt and crooked. "Lock her up! " they chanted from the floor. The unhappiness seeping through her convention was different, coming from supporters of Bernie Sanders - beaten in the primaries - with some of them still willing to boo her name when their hero urged everyone to get behind her to defeat Trump. The Sanders army from the left is not unlike Trump's own on the right - driven by a passionate but sometimes inchoate rage at what they call "the establishment", for which Clinton stands as a convenient symbol. The candidate for the way things have been. So the conventions exposed the candidates' weaknesses. Trump's capacity for crude verbal brawling - even, some Republicans would whisper to you, demagoguery - and the feeling that he might say anything. And - even with Obama's oratory and her own masterclass of a speech - Clinton's difficulty in persuading some of the most liberal voices in her party that she is indeed the one to beat him. She spoke after being nominated of making a crack in the glass ceiling that had held women back. But there's another invisible barrier for her campaign: reluctance in many electors to give her trust. They've now laid it all out. When he's questioned, Trump's answer to how he's going to "make America great again" - the theme of his campaign - is vague, as if explanation is unnecessary. "Just watch me," he says. For Clinton, in her convention speech - a one-woman solution ("I alone can fix it") was wrong and dangerous. And that deep personal divide is also a sharp fork in the road for Americans. Whether on foreign policy, health care, guns and abortion - perhaps above all on the all-important make-up of the Supreme Court - these two candidates talk about a different kind of country. Democrats spent the four days reminding Americans of Clinton's life story - the young lawyer who fought segregation, the First Lady who championed liberal causes, the senator and secretary of state. Experience that deserved trust, but it makes her dangerously like a status quo candidate at a moment when people want change. Trump says it's his time - a time to take a chance. So each heads into the campaign with heavy baggage. Trump's unpredictability and volatility are a handicap. What other candidate would celebrate the suggestion that it was the Russians who'd hacked into Democratic National Committee emails, and suggest that they might do more? Then say the next day he was only joking. And for Clinton, the private email server that she used when she was secretary of state is a mistake that she can't shrug off: Republicans say if you can't trust her to handle classified messages, why should you trust her to run the country? She says if you can bait Trump with a tweet would you trust him with nuclear weapons? We'll see an intensely personal campaign in which one candidate is accused of having not enough experience and the other too much. That means that the most decisive moments will probably come when they meet in three debates, the first in late September. The irresistible force will meet the immovable object. A confrontation, with nowhere to hide. By the time of the last debate - appropriately in Las Vegas, home of the big fight - we should know which of them has best overcome the doubts of the electorate. America is more partisan than it used to be and divided more deeply. The minority of voters with open minds will decide this election and, with the set- piece conventions over, it may be those face-to-face encounters that will settle the matter. The first woman candidate against an opponent with no political experience whatever. However you look at it, we've seen nothing like this before. James Naughtie is BBC News Book Editor and presents Bookclub on BBC Radio 4. He was a presenter on the Today programme from 1994 to 2015.
2016-07-30 05:09 By James www.bbc.co.uk
72 Premiers past: What now for Cameron? It is a curious fact, but the prime minister never actually has possession of the keys to No 10 Downing Street. So, having metaphorically handed them over to Theresa May, what now for David Cameron? Having achieved the highest office in the land at the age of 43, and departed six years later, what next for a man a few months shy of his half-century? Here is a guide to the futures of prime ministers past. The constituents of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath might have felt a little hard done by from May 2010 to May 2015, as the former prime minister was rarely to be seen in the Commons chamber. In addition to becoming a board director for the World Wide Web Foundation and an unpaid advisory role at the World Economic Forum, he was a UN special envoy on global education. He wrote the book Beyond The Crash, which covered the global financial crisis, in just 14 weeks and made a high-profile intervention in the Scottish independence referendum campaign in 2014. Ultimately, Mr Brown's former constituency, a safe Labour area for the previous eight decades, fell to a resurgent Scottish National Party. Since then, he has taken his first private-sector role, as an adviser to the US-based investment management company Pimco, his fee going to the Gordon and Sarah Brown Foundation to support charity work. After leaving Downing Street, Mr Blair stepped down from the parliamentary seat of Sedgefield, triggering a by-election, which Labour won comfortably. He was soon confirmed as a Middle East envoy for the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia, a role he held until May 2015. He also established Tony Blair Associates, providing strategic advice on political and economic trends and governmental reform, with profits going to support Mr Blair's work on "faith, Africa and climate change". But he has faced criticism for providing advice to the Kazakhstan government, which has been criticised for its human rights record. Two foundations have been set up in his name, the Tony Blair Sports Foundation and the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, and a charity called the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative. Mr Blair has also found time to detail his memoirs, with an autobiography entitled A Journey, income from which has been donated to a sports centre for injured service personnel, It is claimed that he has earned up to £100m since leaving office. Mr Blair himself suggests a closer figure would be about a fifth of that sum. Most recently, he has come in for criticism following the conclusion of the Chilcot report on the inquiry into the Iraq War, which criticised the former prime minister for not exhausting all efforts to find a peaceful solution before going to war. John Major served as a backbencher through the four-year parliamentary term, after losing the 1997 general election to Tony Blair, Known for his love of cricket, he was president of Surrey County Cricket Club until 2002 and in 2005 was elected to the committee of the Marylebone Cricket Club. Sir John was knighted in 2005, the last prime minister so far to receive that honour, but has refused any offer of a peerage. In 2002, his affair with Edwina Currie was revealed in her autobiography. He is a popular after-dinner speaker, and chaired the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust. Sir John was a prominent campaigner for remaining in the European Union, and has served as president of the Bow Group and Chatham House. Following the coup that removed her from Downing Street, she remained an MP, representing Finchley until the 1992 general election, when she was ennobled as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven. She became the first former prime minister to set up a foundation, although the British wing of it was dissolved in 2005. She was hired by the tobacco company Philip Morris as a "geopolitical consultant" and continued to speak out on political issues. Baroness Thatcher wrote two autobiographies - The Downing Street Years and The Path to Power - and, in 2007, became the first living prime minister to be honoured with a statue in the Palace of Westminster. Periods of ill health followed, though she continued to make a few choice public appearances. She died in April 2013, at the age of 87. After the 1979 election defeat, Callaghan remained Labour leader during the subsequent transition phase, the last leader of note to do so. He jointly founded the AEI World Forum alongside friend and US President Gerald Ford in 1982. Callaghan became Father of the House in 1983, before standing down from his Cardiff South and Penarth seat at the 1987 general election. That year, he was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, and published his autobiography, Time and Chance. The longest-living former British prime minister died, one day short of his 93rd birthday, in March 2005, 11 days after the death of his wife, Audrey. Wilson unexpectedly announced his resignation just days after his 60th birthday. Notably, the Queen came to dine at Downing Street to mark his resignation, something she had previously done only for Sir Winston Churchill. He continued as MP for Huyton until 1983, balancing that role with being signed up by David Frost to host a chat and interview TV show. After leaving the Commons, he joined the board of trustees of the D'Oyly Carte Trust and, after being raised to the peerage as Lord Wilson of Rievaulx, was a regular attendee in the Lords. He died in May 1995. Of all the former prime ministers, Heath was the stayer, serving the people of Old Bexley and Sidcup from the backbenches for well over a quarter of a century after he left No 10. He resigned the premiership in October 1974, allowing Harold Wilson to form a minority Labour government, and lost the Conservative leadership to Margaret Thatcher the following February in a bitter internal contest. While still popular within the party, Heath's relationship with Thatcher - famously characterised as "the longest sulk in British political history" - was frosty, and he turned down offers to become Britain's ambassador in Washington, and secretary general of Nato. And he criticised both the Thatcher and Major governments when he felt it was necessary. In 1990, Heath flew to Baghdad to secure the release of British nationals held hostage following the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Knighted in 1992, he became Sir Edward. In the same year, Heath also became the Father of the House, finally retiring from Parliament at the 2001 election, aged 84. He died aged 89 in July 2005. After the loss of the 1964 election, Alec Douglas-Home remained as MP for Kinross and Western Perthshire and leader of the opposition for a further year before he resigned the latter role. New Conservative leader Edward Heath gave him the shadow foreign affairs portfolio and then the Commonwealth relations brief. When Heath became prime minister, he resumed the role of foreign secretary, the post he had previously held under Macmillan, from 1970 to 1974. Following the defeat to Labour, he relinquished his seat and returned to the Lords as a life peer. In retirement, he spent his days with his family and fishing, as well as writing three books. He died at the age of 92 in October 1995. "Supermac" stayed on as an MP for a year following his resignation as prime minister, due to ill-health, in 1963. He remained as chancellor of Oxford University, a post to which he was elected in 1960 and in which he remained until his death In 1964, he became chairman of his family firm, the publishers, Macmillan. In a decade at the helm, the company published his six-part autobiography. Having initially resisted the customary offer of a role in the House of Lords, he was granted the last hereditary peerage given to a prime minister, as the Earl of Stockton and Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden. But he voiced criticism of Margaret Thatcher's handling of the coal miners' strike in his maiden speech in the Lords, and he continued to be an occasionally critical thorn in her side until his death in December 1986 at the age of 92. A combination of the Suez crisis and illness led to Anthony Eden's resignation as prime minister. After initially considering a return to Parliament, he instead became the Earl of Avon in 1961. He served as chancellor of the University of Birmingham, bred cattle at his Wiltshire farm, published four volumes of political and personal memoirs covering his political life, and particularly made headlines when criticising US involvement in Vietnam. He died as a result of liver cancer in January 1977 at the age of 79. Ill health resulted in Winston Churchill's resignation during his second term as prime minister, following a stroke, his second, in 1953. He continued as MP for Woodford for a further two parliamentary terms, but his appearances became less frequent over time. Nevertheless, he remained actively interested in politics, particularly foreign affairs. He divided his time between his home in Chartwell, London and the French Riveria. He died following another stroke in January 1965, and was given a state funeral in recognition of his role as Britain's wartime leader. After losing the 1951 election, Clement Atlee battled on to remain leader of the Labour Party in opposition, unsuccessfully fighting the 1955 election. Only then did give up the leadership, after holding the post for more than 20 years. He became Earl Attlee and took his place in the Lords. In retirement, he continued to make an impact, most notably through his support for the decriminalisation of homosexual acts by consenting adults in private. He helped to set up the Homosexual Law Reform Society in 1958, which ultimately led to the law being changed by the Sexual Offences Act in 1967. He died that year at the age of 84.
2016-07-30 05:10 www.bbc.co.uk
73 10 things we didn't know last week 1. "Burn" is the most heavy metal word in the English language, whereas "particularly" is the least. Find out more (New York magazine) 2. Badgers are terrified of the BBC World Service, CBC News and The Wind In The Willows. Find out more (CBC) 3. Barack Obama does not eat exactly seven almonds every night, even though his wife once said he did. Find out more (Politico) 4. Someone has painstakingly recreated 10 minutes of footage, filmed in Milton Keynes, from the 1986 film Superman IV. Find out more 5. You can turn urine into beer using solar power. Find out more (Daily Telegraph) 6. UK police fired their guns seven times in the year to March 2016. Find out more (The Independent) 7. Australia is moving 7cm (2.75in) north every year Find out more 8. Strange markings on a pavement in Oxfordshire, suspected to be the work of burglars, were in fact left by a running club. Find out more 9. There are at least 42 different fares for rail travel between London Euston and Birmingham, ranging from £6 to £119. Find out more (The Times) 10. One in three people have Staphylococcus aureus in their nose, including in some cases the superbug MRSA (multiple-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). Find out more Seen a thing? Tell the Magazine on Twitter using the hashtag #thingididntknowlastweek Follow @BBCNewsMagazine on Twitter and on Facebook
2016-07-30 05:09 News snippets www.bbc.co.uk
74 74 SC delegates' view of Katy Perry at the DNC South Carolina delegates had some fun at the last night of the Democratic National Convention, when they were treated to a Katy Perry concert. The Chester Sheriff's Office brought a "biter" dog and tracker hound to the sheriff's summer camp Thursday to demonstrate the dogs' training. School resource officers helped conduct the three-week summer camp, which helps build rapport between the students and law enforcement, and gives the kids the opportunity to do activities they would normally not be able to do. David Morgan, father of NFL star Jadeveon Clowney, rejected a plea deal for the second time Thursday at a hearing at Moss Justice Center. Morgan is facing up to 75 years in prison if convicted on two counts of attempted murder and three weapons charges stemming from a shooting at the Crazy Horse Showclub. The offer was between 14 and 20 years in a penitentiary for lowered charges in exchange for Morgan pleading guilty. Morgan's case will go to trial in late September or early October. Colbie Wolf, 7, of Fort Mill, had the opportunity to play in a week-long, national tournament in San Francisco sponsored by Baseball For All, a non- profit that cultivates the love of baseball in girls. A group of police, firefighters and other first responders from North and South Carolina are cycling through the Carolinas in memory of those who died in the line of duty. The ride started Monday morning, heading from Columbia to Greenville. On Tuesday, the group traveled from Greenville to Rock Hill, where riders will spend the night at the Elks Lodge. On Wednesday, the riders leave for Salisbury, N. C. The ride has two more North Carolina legs before ending in Raleigh. African-American community leaders challenged senators Tuesday to name a longtime black magistrate to a position in the vacant Rock Hill magistrate job. The leaders, including York County councilman William "Bump" Roddey and former president of the Rock Hill NAACP Melvin Poole, believed Magistrate Judge Mandrile Young should be appointed. No black judge has ever been appointed to lead a township magistrate office in York County. Here are excerpts from a press conference. Clover School District will open two new schools this fall, including the new $34 million Clover Middle School on Barrett Road and Highway 55, about 1.5 miles west of the town of Clover. The school is modeled after Oakridge Middle School on Oakridge Road, which opened in 2008 to serve students on the eastern side of the district. The school will have an estimated 805 students when it opens Aug. 15. Catherine Muccigrosso/Lake Wylie Pilot Eight units were damaged at Avery Lakes Apartments in Fort Mill, displacing 20 residents. Fort Mill-based Belevation represents a new generation of textile manufacturing in Fort Mill. The boutique manufacturer has been steadily growing a customer base that includes Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer.
2016-07-30 05:07 www.heraldonline.com
75 VIDEO: Puyallup police show a softer side Students with the Early Act Club at Maple Lawn Elementary School in Sumner presented a Belonging Bench for future students to use on the playground. When students feel lonely or don’t have anyone to play with, they can go sit on the bench, and someone from the Early Act Club or another student will invite them to play. Sights and sounds from the Puyallup School District's Special Spring Track Meet at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup. Sister Pat Michalek discusses the St. Francis House and its role in the Puyallup community. Students in a Puyallup High School culinary class will be preparing food for the upcoming Lead 2 Feed Day on Thursday. Take a look into what goes on inside the kitchen. Chris Demarest is working at the Puyallup Public Library as its artist in residence, and currently in the midst of his latest installment of his portrait tour for the library’s upcoming Festival of Books. Kalles Junior High math teacher Heidi Matson and other teachers from Kalles, Edgemont, Aylen and Glacier View junior highs are helping students with a curriculum that steps away from the typical paper-and-pencil math most students are used to. The 125th anniversary community gathering is filled with local officials, Puyallup Tribe of Indians tribal representatives, historic artifacts and a live history show featuring none other than Ezra Meeker. Troy Johnston’s smooth stroke helped the Rogers High senior to a career .485 batting average in 62 career games. Johnston finished his junior season with a.488 average. Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/community/puyallup-herald/ph- sports/article29450143.html As part of Nurse Camp, more than 100 campers experienced last week the ability to join nurses and other health care providers as they provided care for patients in nearly ever discipline MultiCare offers. Students got to participate in hands-on job shadows, mock codes and surgery on deceased pigs. Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/community/puyallup- herald/#storylink=cpy The Journey to Nisqually brings hundreds of tribal members paddling from afar to Olympia this weekend. On Thursday they came ashore, guests of the Puyallup Tribe, at Owens Beach in Point Defiance Park.
2016-07-30 05:08 www.thenewstribune.com
76 Online child sex abuse investigation identifies 523 potential victims More than 500 children have been identified as potential victims of online sexual abuse during a major investigation by Police Scotland. The force said 30 million indecent images were seized and 77 people had been charged during Operation Lattise. The charges include rape, sharing indecent images of children and grooming for sexual purposes. Of the 523 potential victims, some as young as three, 122 have been referred to child protection services. The operation, which involved 134 separate investigations, was carried out between the 6 June and 15 July. Police said child victims had been found after the homes of 83 suspects were searched and 547 computers and other devices seized during the five-week operation. Almost 400 charges have been brought so far, including rape, sharing indecent images of children, grooming for sexual purposes, sexual extortion, indecent communication with children, possession of a firearm, bestiality and drugs offences. In one instance, a computer that featured 10 million images depicting child abuse was found. Police Scotland said it would take four full-time officers six months just to view the number of images uncovered. Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham, who led the investigation, said: "This is not sexting in terms of people sending abusive messages to each other. "This is children being sexually abused and these images being shared. "It is about real victims in Scotland and elsewhere. It's about these horrific acts which ruin people's lives and we need to make sure that stops. " Mr Graham called on parents and carers to be "alert" but not alarmed and said there were people in society who used technology to identify children who may be vulnerable to exploitation. The investigation involved officers analysing in excess of 100,000 online chat logs. Examination of one device led officers to conclude that one adult suspect had been sexually communicating with more than 110 children and young people. Det Insp Andy McWilliam, who was also involved in the investigation, said that new technology meant there was no way for perpetrators to hide or erase what they had done online. He said: "Whether they throw the computer in the bath or not, we can find what they have looked at. And we can use covert technology to identify who you are and where you are. "These individuals want to be wherever children are. They are using websites, chatrooms and forums. "These men - and it is predominantly men - are using the profiles of younger children to groom them and offend against them. " Police are also working with young people and parents to help raise awareness of the potential dangers of the internet. They said a key aim was to prevent abuse from happening in the first place. Figures from Police Scotland have shown that the number of recorded offences are growing each year. In 2014-15, there were 23 offences of grooming children for the purposes of sexual offences. Last year it was 50 - an increase of 117%. The offence of taking, distributing or possessing indecent images of children increased from 605 in 2014-15 to 645. NSPCC Scotland policy and public affairs manager Joanna Barrett said the charity was becoming increasingly concerned about the harm caused to children through online activity. She said too many children were being exposed to dangerous and harmful content through the internet or were subjected to online harassment, grooming and sexual exploitation. She said: "We recently highlighted how the internet is playing an increasing role in the sexual abuse of younger children in Scotland, with a 60% rise recorded over a year in the number of indecent communications offences carried out by adults against children aged under 13. " Early years minister Mark McDonald said the Police Scotland operation would help the government hone future child protection programmes. He added: "Children and young people should be able to enjoy and learn from the internet, but we also want them to stay in control and know what to do and who to go to if they feel at risk. "Keeping children safe is a priority for both Police Scotland and the Scottish government, so although there are many positive aspects to the online world I recognise, there are also risks we have to be aware of. "
2016-07-30 05:05 By Lucy www.bbc.co.uk
77 Trevor Gray: Wife's battle to clear wrongly jailed detective's name A High Court judge has said a police force was wrong not to reinstate a former detective wrongly jailed for raping a woman in 2011. Trevor Gray's wife Alison told BBC News how her family won a five-year, £150,000 battle to clear his name. Alison Gray still remembers visiting her husband Trevor in prison for the first time. "He was just a shadow of what he was before," she said. "He had lost a lot of weight and was sat with his knees bouncing up and down like a caged animal. " In 2011, Mr Gray, a serving Nottinghamshire Police detective, was accused of raping a 43-year-old woman at her home. He and his wife were estranged at the time. He claimed he had had consensual sex with the woman but a jury found him guilty and he was jailed for eight years. Mrs Gray was no stranger to fighting battles. She had breast cancer in 2004 and again in 2010, leading to two mastectomies. She now believes the strain of this was probably "the catalyst" for the initial breakdown in their marriage. However, she was still determined to prove his innocence. "I knew what kind of man he was, morally correct in everything he does," the 50-year-old said. "I just knew he wasn't capable of that. Despite our differences, and the fact we'd separated, I knew he wasn't capable of such a crime. " With her husband in prison, she began playing detective herself, while selling her husband's possessions on eBay to pay the legal bills. "I was going through the case files, picking up the inconsistencies and anomalies and I knew I had to do something - there were so many errors in there," she said. She discovered a taxi driver mentioned in the files who had not been questioned by police. He was tracked down and later told jurors at Mr Gray's retrial in 2014 that he saw the woman and Mr Gray kiss and embrace. Mr Gray, 51, was acquitted after a four-day hearing. Despite his acquittal - and a Police Appeals Tribunal board ruling that Mr Gray could return to work - his employers suspended him in April 2014, a decision later upheld by the same tribunal board. "They held a disciplinary hearing in which they said - on the balance of probability - they believed the complainant over Trevor," Mrs Gray said. "Effectively he was being sentenced again on the same point by the police. " Two years on, Mr Gray was granted a judicial review into that dismissal, the result of which was announced in London on Friday. The judge quashed the force's decision and said it fell "well below the standard" expected in such "important disciplinary proceedings". The force has now said it is staying Mr Gray's reinstatement pending an application to the Court of Appeal. Mrs Gray said the saga has taken its toll on the pair - who reconciled months after the first trial - as well as their two daughters Laurie, 25, and Natalie, 23. "I don't think it will ever leave us," she said. "The scars will be there forever. "It's taken its toll, particularly on Trevor. He spends a lot of time at the computer researching, he's been through counselling. " The extensive legal fees involved in a case like this have naturally strained the family financially - forcing them to put their house on the market "just in case" and spending £150,000 - much of which they have recouped. Mrs Gray said she still recalled "going through family members" to try to raise £5,000 in the week of the retrial. An IPCC report, seen by the BBC, recommended two senior detectives, who investigated the case, face misconduct proceedings. But the IPCC and the force later agreed the pair would face no formal sanctions. They were instead "given management action relating to performance development". The IPCC has now said it is considering releasing the report. For now, Mrs Gray is sticking to her philosophy of positive thinking. "[The cancer] wasn't a nice time, but I survived, got through the treatment, then this happened - so I'm ready for a break. " 2016-07-30 05:09 By Alex www.bbc.co.uk
78 Diabetes is no laughing matter, say young sufferers A young American woman, infuriated by a social media trend where pictures of cakes and sweets are accompanied by #diabetes, has spelled out what it is really like to have the condition. On a Facebook post with the hashtag #WhatDiabetesReallyLooksLike, Madeline Milzark, 18, wrote about living with type 1 diabetes . "Diabetes isn't your piece of cake, or that super-sized McDonald's meal with extra fries or anything you see coated with sugar. "Diabetes is an 18-year-old girl sitting on her bathroom floor shaking and not able to breathe because her blood sugar dropped and praying her grandma's phone is near her and she got the text message to bring some sugar since she's too weak to yell and the whole room is spinning. " Her post has been shared thousands of times around the world. Madeline told the BBC: "I originally posted the piece because I had low blood sugar, and I finally had enough. So many people post jokes about my disease, even people on my 'friends' list, yet they don't see me when I'm unconscious or when sugar actually saves my life. "I'm so extremely happy about the response I've gotten. "I've had so many people telling me I'm making a difference, sharing their stories with me and thanking me. It's so heart-warming. " Like Madeline, Amy Black - from Belfast - has type 1 diabetes and she supports her campaign: "I agree with it in terms of how she's retaliated. It's something which I've experienced personally and frustrates me a lot. A lot of people trivialise diabetes and don't realise how serious it is. "People don't seem to see it as a chronic illness - people poke fun at it. "There's a lot of misinformation and confusion between type 1 and type 2. "There have been times where I've been near people buying ice cream or sweets and people have said that they're 'getting diabetes'. "I never say anything but it makes me feel irritated. It's so frustrating. "Sometimes people seem to think I was using it as an excuse, because I don't 'look diabetic'. People think you have to be overweight and over 50 but that's simply not the case. There needs to be more public education. " Amy was 11 when she was diagnosed. A boy at school had recently found out he had the condition and described his symptoms to the class - increased thirst, going to the toilet more, feeling more tired and growing thinner. These are known as the four Ts of type 1 diabetes. When she started experiencing her symptoms a few months later her mother, who was a nurse, tested her blood. Now she says stress makes her condition worse, and she has had seizures in her sleep. She constantly has to keep an eye on her blood sugar levels. Sophie Lane has recently started a blog describing her life with type 1 diabetes . The 24-year-old says people are not aware of what having the condition involves. "I find it hard when I'm doing an injection. I don't want to move away to do it but people keep asking questions about why I have to do it. " Sophie was 12 when she was diagnosed and says: "I was lucky. I had very mild symptoms. My GP was diabetic and she spotted the symptoms. " Despite her symptoms being relatively mild, she was sent to hospital. Sophie, from Hertfordshire, is now using social media to connect with other people with the condition and find support through her blog and an Instagram account. "On your own, it's harder but when people have the same issues as you have, it helps," she says. "It helped me so much. The blog is more for people to read, to understand it more and, for people who have it, to have something to relate to. "Because it isn't visible, if you don't tell anyone, they won't know. And people don't realise how much it affects you. " Dan Howarth, head of care at Diabetes UK, said: "Every day we hear from people with type 1 diabetes who say that often, people don't understand their condition and think that they brought it on themselves. "Captioning a plate of food with #diabetes is not helpful. "What we need is for people to understand the differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes which may help to avoid this kind of insensitivity and recognise that all types of diabetes are very serious. "
2016-07-30 05:09 By Caroline www.bbc.co.uk
79 UN humanitarian convoy in Nigeria ambushed by Boko Haram A United Nations humanitarian convoy was ambushed by Boko Haram jihadists Thursday in Nigeria's restive northeast, leaving several people wounded, the UN children's agency and the Nigerian army said. It was the first such attack on aid workers in the volatile region, the epicentre of the seven-year Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north. "The convoy was travelling from Bama to Maiduguri in Borno State, Nigeria, returning from delivering desperately needed assistance," when it was ambushed, UNICEF said in a statement Friday. "Unknown assailants attacked a humanitarian convoy that included staff from UNICEF, UNFPA, and IOM," the statement added. It said a UNICEF employee and an IOM contractor were injured in the attack and were being treated at a local hospital. "All other UNICEF, IOM and UNFPA staff are safe," it added. UNICEF said the team was in a remote area of northeastern Nigeria, where protracted conflict has caused extreme suffering and has triggered a severe malnutrition crisis. "This was not only an attack on humanitarian workers. It is an attack on the people who most need the assistance and aid that these workers were bringing," it added. UNICEF said the UN had temporarily suspended humanitarian assistance missions in the area pending a review of the security situation. The Nigerian army confirmed the incident in a statement by its spokesman Colonel Sani Usman. "Troops returning from Bama on humanitarian escort duty, were ambushed en route (to) Maiduguri by suspected remnants of Boko Haram terrorists hiding in Meleri village, a few kilometres from Kawuri," it said. It said the military repelled the attack, leaving two soldiers and three civilians injured, including UN aid workers. Some cities in the northeast, including Bama, had gone up to 18 months without any humanitarian deliveries before aid agencies and the UN arrived in June. Many areas can only be accessed under escort from the Nigerian army. The UN said in May that 9.2 million people living around Lake Chad, which forms the border of Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger, were in desperate need of food. Seven million of them are in Nigeria. The medical charity Doctors Without Borders this week also raised the alarm, saying its teams had recently found extremely high levels of malnutrition in northeastern Borno state. The charity known by its French acronym MSF said the there were between 500,000 and 800,000 people trapped in the area that cannot be reached by humanitarian workers. Boko Haram, which seeks to impose strict Islamic law in northern Nigeria, has been blamed for some 20,000 deaths and displacing more than 2.6 million people since 2009. Nigeria's government has been encouraging people to return home since the recapture of swathes of territory lost to the Islamist militants in 2014 but most are still largely reliant on food handouts.
2016-07-30 05:08 By AFP www.digitaljournal.com
80 Morgan Freeman steals spotlight at DNC — RT America Morgan Freeman has done everything from narrating a movie about penguins to playing a paralyzed detective and God himself, but on Thursday night he added another notch to his belt: narrating the introduction video of the first female presidential candidate, which was directed by Scandal showrunner Shonda Rhimes. The beloved actor’s absence was noted by some. According to his official Facebook page, he has returned to directing the TV show – wait for it – Madame Secretary. Hearing Freeman’s deep voice in the convention set off an avalanche of emotions and social media responses. A significant portion of social media was simply delighted to hear his smooth, rich voice. Some were even happier, believing that this signifies Freeman’s endorsement of Clinton. For others, his mere involvement in the campaign was an insult and ruined the actor forever. Not to mention – many were fascinated by hearing God from Evan Almighty at the DNC.
2016-07-30 05:08 www.rt.com
81 ‘Traitor cemetery,’ ‘birthplace toilet’ & other unconventional retaliation after failed Turkey coup — RT News UPDATE: Following the appearance of the controversial sign at the burial place, there has been a meeting of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet), which decided it "would be appropriate to remove the sign," Hurriyet Daily reported , citing Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Kadir Topbas. The official had been told that "it's highly probable that the families of the dead would be offended by the name of the cemetery," so he reportedly ordered it to be removed on Friday. Citing workers at the site, Hurriyet also reported that so far just one body has been buried there. While Erdogan has been unable to get his hands on Pennsylvania-based Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric whom the authorities accuse of orchestrating the July 15 rebellion and want extradited from the US, some overzealous supporters of the Turkish leader have decided to take retribution closer to home. The birthplace of Gulen in the village of Korucuk is going to be turned into a public toilet, according to a report from local outlet Beyaz Gazete. The lavatory is to be built from materials coming from the house Gulen was born in. The outlet claimed the villagers themselves asked authorities for the unusual construction project in the central province of Erzurum. Local journalist Latif Simsek, who reported on the case after hearing about it from another man, said “I thought he was kidding [but] then I called Erzurum Metropolitan Mayor, Mehmet Sekman.” Gulen, who is being presented as Erdogan’s arch-nemesis, despite being his former ally, has been living in exile for years and denies having any links to the coup plotters. Washington says “enough evidence” will have to be presented if Gulen is to be handed over, further infuriating Ankara. Not only has Fethullah Gulen’s private property ended up in crosshairs of public anger, but also his intellectual property, as books by the writer, preacher and thinker were burned by locals in the aftermath of the coup, according to The Independent, citing local reports. Police uncovered the ashes of about a hundred of the alleged coup mastermind’s books in a landfill on Turkish Cyprus, local media reported. However, the outlet speculated that locals may have committed the literary arson out of fear of being swept up in the “witch hunt” for coup plotters. Turkish authorities have even established a “traitor’s graveyard” in the aftermath of the coup attempt, as cemeteries across the country have been refusing to accept the bodies of coup plotters. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Kadir Topbas said that he has ordered that space be allotted to accommodate the dead “traitors,” where “the passersby will curse the ones buried there.” The mayor of Istanbul has also said that even the cemetery for the nameless was not a suitable place for them, as they should not be buried with religious people. They do not deserve “acquittal and prayers of their fellow believers,” the religious body was quoted as saying by Bianet media outlet. According to Turkish officials, 270 people were killed in the uprising against President Erdogan, including 24 plotters. In the latest crackdown, Turkey closed over 130 media outlets on Wednesday, including TV stations and newspapers. Turkish Interior Minister Efkana Ala recently announced that more than 15,000 people have been detained since the failed coup. A total of 8,113 have been formally arrested and are awaiting trial, while the judicial system itself has also experienced reshuffles and arrests. Over 45,000 members of the army, judiciary, police, and media, as well as civil servants, have been sacked. 2016-07-30 05:08 www.rt.com
82 In pictures: The beauty of the skies A photo of a Royal Spoonbill basking in the glow of the almost full Moon is one of the shortlisted images in the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 competition. The picture was made by Andrew Caldwell in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. Now in its eighth year, the contest received more than 4,500 entries from amateurs and professional photographers from more than 80 countries. This shot of vivid green Northern Lights was captured by Jan R Olsen in Olderdalen, Norway. The competition, which is run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich in association with Insight Investment and BBC Sky at Night Magazine, selects winners in nine categories including Skyscapes, Galaxies and Aurorae, and two special prizes. Michael Jaeger took this image of Comet Lovejoy. The stars of the Milky Way bathe the colourful layers of the Painted Hills of Oregon in a natural glow in Nicholas Roemmelt's picture, titled Frozen Giant. Ivan Eder made this image of the M8 Lagoon Nebula which is situated approximately 5,000 light years from our planet. The Moon illuminates the night sky over Paraty Bay, Brazil, in Rafael Defavari's shortlisted photo. The shadow of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, is projected by the rising sun over the volcano, Hualalai, as the Moon glows in the sky in Sean Goebel's photo. Pickering's Triangle is the subject of Bob Frankel's shortlisted shot. Located in the Veil Nebula, it is one of the main visual elements of a supernova remnant. A searing solar prominence extends outwards from the surface of the Sun in an image by Eric Toops. The winning images will be announced on 15 September 2016. This picture is called Northern Lights over Jokulsarlon, Iceland, by Giles Rocholl 2016-07-30 05:08 www.bbc.co.uk
83 Rev. William Barber: Be ‘the moral defibrillators of our time’ President Barack Obama addressed the Democratic National Convention Wednesday telling the American people that Hillary Clinton is the only candidate that can move the country forward. The president told an energetic crowd in Philadelphia that it's now the American people's role to vote in November. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine formally accepted the nomination for vice president at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday. Hillary Clinton’s running mate energized the Philadelphia arena by speaking in Spanish and blasting Donald Trump's credibility and experience. Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute of Public Opinion, says Trump's recent bounce in the polls shouldn't be taken seriously. Miringoff explains the polls to watch will be released the week following the Democratic National Convention. Polly Sheppard and Felicia Sanders, the only adult survivors of the Emanuel AME church massacre in Charleston, S. C., spoke about gun violence and their support for Hillary Clinton. Supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders staged a protest in the media tent at the Democratic National Convention for a second straight day Wednesday. This time, they brought star power in the form of Hollywood stars and fellow Sanders supporters Danny Glover, Susan Sarandon and Rosario Dawson. They were protesting the fact that Nina Turner, a beloved speaker among Sanders supporters, wasn't allowed to give an address at the convention. Glover suggested Hillary Clinton's team had agreed to give Turner speaking time, but then reversed course. Former President Bill Clinton spoke of Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, recalling the beginnings of their relationship and calling his wife "the best darn change maker I ever met. " After securing the Democratic nomination for president on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton made a surprise video appearance thanking her supporters for helping her make history. The presidential candidate will address the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on Thursday. Pat Cotham, a superdelegate from North Carolina, reminisces about her grandmother, Bess Spencer, and the "family tradition" of being a delegate. Bess was one of the 15 female delegates at the Democratic National Convention of 1948. "Pitch Perfect" and "Hunger Games" actress, producer, and director Elizabeth Banks called Donald Trump "over the top" and shared a personal story about Bill and Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on Tuesday. In a historic vote, delegates on Tuesday formally nominated Hillary Clinton as the first female candidate for president. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) rounded out the voting process officially nominating his one-time opponent.
2016-07-30 05:07 www.charlotteobserver.com
84 Shuttle Endeavour lands at California air base (CNN) -- Space shuttle Endeavour landed safely Sunday afternoon at California's Edwards Air Force Base after NASA waved off two opportunities for a Florida landing because of poor weather. The shuttle, steered by commander Christopher Ferguson, landed at 1:25 p.m., ending a mission that lasted more than two weeks. Wind, rain and reports of thunderstorms within 30 miles of the shuttle landing facility at Florida's Kennedy Space Center prompted NASA to cancel the landing attempts there. Those had been scheduled for 1:19 p.m. and 2:54 p.m. ET. After determining Monday's weather forecast at Kennedy Space Center was equally unpromising, flight controllers decided they would try to land the shuttle and its seven astronauts at Edwards AFB, about 100 miles from Los Angeles, California, where Sunday's forecast was sunny. Flight controllers prefer landings at Kennedy Space Center because of cost and schedule. NASA has estimated it costs about $1.7 million to bring a shuttle home to Kennedy Space Center from California. Watch Endeavour's Sunday landing in California » It also takes at least a week to get the shuttle ready for the trip, but schedule is not a major factor for the Endeavour; it is not scheduled to fly again until May. Endeavour's 15-day mission to the international space station began on November 14 and included four spacewalks. During that time, the crew brought key pieces -- including exercise equipment, more sleeping berths and a urine recycling system -- for a project to double the capacity of the station from three in-house astronauts to six. The recycling system was installed to turn urine and sweat from the astronauts into drinking water. Other modules are scheduled to arrive on a February shuttle flight. The goal of expanding the station's capacity to six astronauts is expected to be reached by the summer. The crew also worked on a joint that helps generate power for the space station. Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steve Bowen spent hours cleaning and lubricating the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint, which is designed to allow the solar panels on the left side of the station to rotate and track the sun. The astronauts also removed and replaced several trundle bearing assemblies. The mission went according to plan, despite a minor interruption on the first spacewalk when a grease gun in Stefanyshyn-Piper tool's bag leaked, coating everything inside with a film of lubricant. While she was trying to clean it up, the bag -- with $100,000 in tools -- floated away. CNN's Kate Tobin and Miles O'Brien contributed to this report.
2016-07-30 05:03 rss.cnn.com
85 Prince death: Judge snubs claims by 29 would-be heirs A judge in the US state of Minnesota has dismissed claims by 29 people who said they were owed a share of Prince's inheritance. The singer died in April from an accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl, but he did not leave a will and did not have any children. Reports in Minnesota say his estate may be worth at least $300m (£227m). A judge has now ordered genetic tests to be carried out on six people with claims to be relatives of the singer. Four siblings or half-siblings, as well as two women believed to be a niece and a grand-niece, will be tested. Genetic tests had already ruled out the claim of a man in jail in Colorado who said he was Prince's son. And, as part of the latest ruling, Judge Kevin Eide decided a claim by a Georgia woman, who said she and Prince were once married, was not valid. She had said the CIA was keeping their marriage record secret. Minneapolis' Star Tribune newspaper said the case was thrown out against five men who said they were Prince's father. Prince was found unresponsive in a lift at his Paisley Park Studios on the morning of 21 April, local officials said. First responders tried to revive him with CPR but he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. Prescription painkillers were in the 57-year-old's possession following his death, officials told US media in May. He is believed to have suffered from knee and hip pain from years of performing. According to the autopsy report, Prince self-administered fentanyl, an opioid many times more powerful than heroin. A singer, songwriter, arranger and multi-instrumentalist, Prince recorded more than 30 albums. His best known hits include Let's Go Crazy and When Doves Cry.
2016-07-30 05:04 www.bbc.co.uk
86 David Bowie honoured at BBC Proms The life and music of David Bowie have been celebrated and mourned at an eclectic edition of the BBC Proms. The late-night concert featured orchestral reworkings of his music, performed by the likes of Marc Almond, John Cale and Laura Mvula. "This is not a wake," singer Amanda Palmer, of the Dresden Dolls, told a sold-out Royal Albert Hall. "This is an amazing... secular celebration of some of the most incredible music in the world. " Nonetheless, it was a largely downbeat affair, filleting Bowie's back catalogue for maximum pathos. Cale turned Space Oddity into a solemn incantation, while The Villagers' Conor O'Brien gave a beautifully melancholy reading of The Man Who Sold The World. Like most multi-artist tributes, though, it was an uneven affair. Fame and Ashes To Ashes came untethered without a solid backbeat, while a droning version of Always Crashing In The Same Car, by French counter-tenor Philippe Jaroussky, simply didn't work. But things always took a turn for the better when Anna Calvi took to the stage. Her duet with Palmer on Blackstar, one of Bowie's final songs, was darkly devastating, while a visceral Lady Grinning Soul sent chills through the auditorium. The British singer told the BBC she had grasped the opportunity to reinterpret Bowie's songs with the Stargaze ensemble. "The songs are so good that you can do anything with them and they still retain a magic quality. " Palmer, wearing a crown of thorns, also gave a gutsy reading of Heroes, while Marc Almond delivered the two biggest crowd-pleasers of the night: Life On Mars and Starman. Speaking before the latter, he recalled watching Bowie perform the song on Top Of The Pops in 1972, his arm draped around guitarist Mick Ronson. "[It] was a life-changing moment for so many teenagers - such as me," he said. "David Bowie made us look at the world through different eyes. " Cale, for whom Bowie was a friend and musical collaborator, said the Prom showed "a different side to David Bowie" - but the experimental performances split opinion on Twitter. "This is the worst thing that's ever happened in the entire history of everything," said musician Luke Haines , of The Auteurs and Black Box Recorder. "I'm sure John Cale doing Space Oddity must've looked like a great idea on paper," wrote David Baddiel , while actor Simon Pegg simply tweeted a picture of Bowie holding his head in his hands. Broadcaster Stuart Maconie disagreed, writing : "The Bowie Prom was exactly what a Bowie Prom should have been: Quixotic, challenging, playful, maddening and mainly brilliant. " "Beautiful and odd and disjointed and quite majestic all in one," added Ethan Jones. "It was never going to be a TOTP compilation was it now? " The last word, however, should go to Palmer, whose EP of string quartet Bowie covers helped inspire the Proms programme. "David Bowie is such a reminder, as a musician, that life is so short," she told BBC 6 Music. "You only have this span of time to do whatever you want - so why not try the bizarre, and why not venture way outside the predictable, and why not follow your impulses? " Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts , on Instagram at bbcnewsents , or email [email protected] .
2016-07-30 05:02 By Mark www.bbc.co.uk
87 How to avoid a holiday disaster when travelling with young children The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have flown to France for their first summer family holiday with Prince George and Princess Charlotte. But as the young royals make travelling with two young children look like a breeze, most new parents find taking a trip a daunting prospect. So, without the help of a nanny and a private jet, how do you avoid holiday disaster when travelling with kids? You've got up at the crack of dawn, frantically scrambled to the car, got stuck in traffic and have tired, bored toddlers testing your nerve. The key to getting five minutes' peace on your journey is providing plenty of distractions. Having an arsenal of toys and snacks that can be pulled out at different intervals inevitably helps the time go quicker. Sticker books, a selection of stocking-filler type toys to be opened every hour, comics, books and plenty of finger-food snacks, are what Mumsnet recommends . Playing I-Spy and "count the cars" might only last so long but a portable device for playing Frozen on repeat will last for hours. Just don't forget the charger - or the headphones. When it comes to food, small pieces of easy-to-hold and not-too-sticky foods are best - there is nothing worse than a clammy toddler hand covered in rapidly melting chocolate. Mumsnetters also suggest sippy cups or sports bottles, rather than juice cartons or cans to reduce the high risk of spills. For most parents with young children the idea of stepping onto a packed plane, full of people trying to sleep, is the stuff of nightmares. As the engines roar and the tears begin, adults try to frantically quieten the little ones with endless bouncing on the lap, whilst wishing the ground would swallow them up. But guess what, children cry, and sometimes there is just not much you can do about it. So relax. As long as you're not doing something that is disrespectful to other passengers, it's fine. Fellow parents will probably zone out with a smug look on their face that says "thank goodness that's not me". Try sitting in aisle seats so you don't have to ask anyone to move for you and children can have a little wander (then crack out your distraction tools from tip one). If all else fails, there is bribery. Parenting blogger Melissa Baswell Williams got a huge reaction on social media after posting pictures of the small bags of sweets and ear plugs she gave to nearby passengers on a flight she took with her 11-week old baby. Take time to plan where you are going to stay. The cool apartment in a remote mountain top location might have been idyllic when you were without children, but with babies and toddlers in tow it can leave you in a constant state of panic. Sian Williams, who runs the travel company Baby Friendly Boltholes says: "A holiday can be pretty stressful if you are constantly averting the next disaster with a free standing mirror, sharp-edged table, or un-gated stone steps. "For me, the holy grail is a place that is stylish and parent-friendly. Cool but practical interiors and services to help parents relax whether it's a raft of baby gear so you can pack light, babysitters or meal delivery services so you can enjoy a romantic evening. " Mum-of-three Jane, from parenting blog Northern Mum, says you often don't need to take half as much stuff with you as you think you'll need. "You are not the first parents to take children away. People have thought about a lot of this already and hotels and accommodation can often provide things like cots and sterilisers. Do some research about what they already have as it can save you a whole load of hassle. " A playground or a toy corner onsite are also good so parents can take it in turns to let the other lie-in whilst one keeps junior occupied. Take a supply of child-friendly medicines with you. Being stuck with an ill child in a foreign country, miles from anywhere, is no fun. If your little one often feels sick on car journeys try to keep them focused on things outside the car, rather than a book or screen, and remember to keep a plastic bag in the glove compartment for any unexpected sickness. The most important weapon for any parent are baby wipes, Mumsnet says, especially when travelling. If your child gets themselves into a mess, when there are limited facilities on a flight or train or for any spills, baby wipes work a treat. A change of clothes is also highly recommended. With all the worries of travelling filling your mind don't forget to have fun - it is a holiday after all. Children are funny, love to explore and the smallest things are often what they enjoy the most (with the bonus being they are often free!). Digging a big hole on the beach, looking for interesting stones and riding on the top deck of the bus are all a thrill when you're a kid. Why not provide them with a camera, travel experts at Thomas Cook recommend - a brilliant way to keep kids entertained and it's great to then look back over the pictures when you get home and see the holiday through your child's eyes. After all the stress, when you really need time to lie on a sun lounger with a cocktail in hand, look for the kids' club. Many hotels and resorts offer them and children often don't want to leave.
2016-07-30 05:01 By Emma www.bbc.co.uk
88 WBTV First Alert Weather forecast for 07.29.16 WBTV meteorologist Al Conklin with The Charlotte Observer weather forecast for July 20, 2016. WBTV meteorologist Al Conklin with The Charlotte Observer weather forecast for July 15, 2016. WBTV meteorologist Al Conklin with The Charlotte Observer weather forecast for July 13, 2016. WBTV meteorologist Chris Larson with The Charlotte Observer weather forecast for July 11, 2016. WBTV meteorologist Lyndsay Tapases with The Charlotte Observer weather forecast for July 7, 2016. WBTV meteorologist Lyndsay Tapases with The Charlotte Observer weather forecast for July 6, 2016. WBTV meteorologist Chris Larson with The Charlotte Observer weather forecast for July 5, 2016. WBTV meteorologist Chris Larson with The Charlotte Observer weather forecast for July 1, 2016. WBTV meteorologist Al Conklin with The Charlotte Observer weather forecast for June 29, 2016.
2016-07-30 05:01 www.charlotteobserver.com
89 Booze ban for China region's civil servants A province in eastern China has become the latest to crack down on civil servants' boozy working lunches by banning them from touching alcohol during official duties. Business meetings conducted over a meal can often be alcohol-heavy in China, but in Anhui province they'll be sober affairs in future, the People's Daily website reports. Drinking is now banned during the workday and at all official activities, be it conferences or deal-making dinners. It's being described in Chinese media as the "most stringent ever" implemented in the province. The only exceptions will be for events relating to foreign affairs, or those aimed at attracting investment. An investigation was launched in Anhui in February after several civil servants died of alcohol poisoning following official banquets, state news agency Xinhua says . A national alcohol ban for civil servants was proposed in 2009 but not adopted, and while some areas have brought in their own rules to stop on- the-job drinking, they have often prompted complaints from bars and restaurants about a loss of business. Toning down extravagant spending among officials, including lavish dining habits , has been a key part of President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive since he took office in 2012. Even Anhui's big government events will be less boozy from now on: in June, the province banned alcohol from being served at most official banquets. One civil servant told China Daily that many Chinese believe you can learn a lot about a person's character from their approach to alcohol, so it can be a way of building trust, but that some officials hate the drinking culture. Among Chinese social media users there's broad support for the changes. "How was this provision not implemented sooner? " asks one user. Another says: "This is good, in my opinion, drinking at work is not a good idea. " And several can't believe that Anhui has taken so long to stop its staff from drinking while on duty. Next story: Museum cats spared eviction after online campaign Use #NewsfromElsewhere to stay up-to-date with our reports via Twitter .
2016-07-30 05:01 By News www.bbc.co.uk
90 Ex-Guatemala football chief Jimenez pleads guilty to bribes Brayan Jimenez, a former head of Guatemala's football federation, has pleaded guilty in a US court to racketeering and wire fraud. The 62-year-old now faces up to 20 years in prison for each count. Prosecutors say he received hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to award lucrative marketing rights to his country's World Cup qualifying matches to a Florida based company. He was arrested in Guatemala in January and later extradited to the US. He is among more than 40 individuals and entities from around the globe charged as part of a major corruption investigation at Fifa - the world governing body of world football. Brayan Jimenez was head of the Guatemalan Football Federation (Fedefut) from 2010 until last year. US prosecutors say he and former Fedefut Secretary-General Hector Trujillo took a "six-digit bribe" to sell the television rights to qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup. Mr Trujillo was arrested in the US in 2015. The US Department of Justice has said it asked for the arrests because the alleged offences were "agreed and prepared in the United States" and payments were also processed via American banks.
2016-07-30 05:01 www.bbc.co.uk
91 17 secret ways to save on your next hotel stay By Terence Loose/GOBankingRates Traveling isn't cheap. Whether you're going away for business or taking a well- deserved vacation, it's just too easy to rack up a bill worth hundreds -- perhaps even thousands -- of dollars. And often, your biggest budget buster is your hotel room. Luckily, there are various savings strategies you can use to find the perfect hotel that fits within your budget -- or at least offers free perks. Click through to find out how you can uncover hotel deals and save money. This article was originally published by GOBankingRates. To save money on your next vacation , consider booking a hotel room through RoomerTravel.com. This site allows you to purchase other travelers' unwanted hotel room reservations at a low rate, said consumer and money- saving expert Andrea Woroch. "The site connects you with travelers who are stuck with a reservation they can't cancel, but are willing to sell and transfer the reservation at a discount," she said. Hotels don't regularly offer coupons, said Woroch. But if you search, sometimes you can find coupon codes for third-party booking sites that will score you a cheaper room. "For instance, Coupon Sherpa offers 40 percent off select hotels at Hotels.com and $20 off $150 booking at HotelWiz," said Woroch. Price matches aren't just for Target shoppers. Although they might not heavily advertise it, many hotels will match a competitor's lower price if you ask, Woroch said. That goes for third-party sites, as well. "Hotels.com offers to price match any competitor or hotel's price -- just book, then submit the cheaper-priced link," said Woroch. "I do this because I earn a free night through their site after 10 stays, so it's a win-win. " Costco and Sam's Club sometimes have offers for hotel discounts -- and more -- for members, said Woroch. "If you're a member to a warehouse club, check their travel site for deals on hotels and vacation package values ," she said. If you can avoid staying in hotels Friday and Saturday, you could save some cash. "Most hotels offer a significant discount on rates starting on Sunday through Thursday," said Woroch. As an added bonus, the pool, restaurants and spas will be less busy and sometimes offer deals, she said. It can be incredibly frustrating to find a seemingly great hotel rate, only to see it get jacked up with daily parking fees, internet fees and even resort fees. The solution: Find an inclusive hotel that already includes these perks in the price. "Free breakfast, WiFi and parking are big perks that should be considered when comparing hotel rates, as those daily fees can add up quickly depending on the length of your stay," said Woroch. No, no -- we're not saying go hog wild with your Visa. But often, credit card holders get exclusive hotel deals that are pretty attractive , said Woroch. "For instance, MasterCard card members can get an extra 10 percent off select hotel bookings through Hotels.com, via a deal posted on Coupon Sherpa," she said. The deal is good through the end of 2016. Warehouse members and credit card users aren't the only ones who get hotel deals from memberships. If you're an AAA, military or AARP member, there's a good chance that can help you score a cheaper hotel room, too, said Woroch. "For example, Hilton Garden Inn offers 10 percent off for senior citizens ages 65 and older," she said. Plus, the hotel offers up to 10 percent off for AARP members, as well as AAA members. If you've never used the HotelTonight app, Woroch said you should. "The app aggregates unsold rooms at high-end hotels and provides cut-rate prices to users," she said. Woroch has seen last-minute luxury accommodations up to 70 percent off. That might make the breakfast buffet affordable again. Many consumers don't realize they can use their credit card airline miles for savings on hotels, too, said Woroch. You can also often redeem credit card rewards for gift cards to use toward a hotel room, she added. So when asked, "What's in your wallet? " Your answer could be, "A free hotel stay. " Business hotels might not offer all the flashy and splashy amenities a resort does, but they could help you save enough to bolster your vacation with more fun in the sun. Parasailing or scuba diving can make up for a smaller pool in no time. "During the summer months and on weekends, [business] hotels are typically slower," said Coupons.com savings expert Jeanette Pavini. "You're more likely to get a good deal at these hotels if you book a room during those off-peak times. " Waiting until late in the day to check in could get you a better room for the same price, said Pavini. "Once your hotel has checked in the majority of its guests for the night, they can better evaluate their vacancies and may be more inclined to upgrade your room for free ," she said. Apart-hotels are serviced apartments, routinely found in Europe, that come with a small kitchen, which can save you money on eating out. These might cost a little more upfront, but the amenities can help you save in the long run, said Pavini. Plus, they are listed on many travel sites that offer coupon codes. "For example, three nights in a highly-rated apart-hotel in Kensington, London, cost $896 -- including taxes -- for a family of four," she said. "We had a coupon code for 15 percent off on Orbitz, bringing the cost down to $784. " When booking hotel stays in foreign countries on your credit card, foreign transaction fees can start before you even leave the states, said Pavini. That's why it's important to know which credit card offers the lowest foreign transaction fee -- and book travel on that card. "You could avoid [some] foreign transaction fees by booking on a third-party travel site where your money does not need to be converted," she said. "Those sites like Orbitz and Hotels.com also typically have high-value coupon codes at Coupons.com. " Like most businesses, hotels love loyal customers and are willing to offer them perks, said Woroch. "For instance, Best Western Rewards members can save 10 percent or more, and earn points for free nights," she said. Loyalty rewards can apply to third-party sites, as well. "At the coupon codes pages on Coupons.com, we found that Hotels.com will give you one night free when you stay 10 nights through their loyalty program," said Pavini. Many hotels and airlines have point partnerships, but often the chance to earn points doesn't stop there, said Pavini. "For instance, right now Starwood Preferred Guests can earn one Starpoint per dollar spent with Uber," she said. And during your stays with SPG, you can earn even more Starpoints per U. S. dollars spent with Uber, depending on your tier level. Sure, a hotel credit card might not have the best interest rate. But if you pay it off each month, you can still cash in on some rewards. "You'll often receive an automatic upgrade to a mid-tier loyalty status, which comes with perks," said Lee Huffman, travel expert and founder of the travel and financial advice site BaldThoughts.com . "And you'll rack up points much quicker when using the hotel's card to pay for your room," he said. "Some cards even give you free nights when you pay the annual fee or spend a certain amount on the card. "
2016-07-30 05:01 GOBankingRates www.cbsnews.com
92 The American Spectator “So how many times have you hiked Red Rocks, Jerry?” I asked. He laughed, exhaling a puff of smoke from a near ever-present cigarette, the only vice which seemed to remain in his life (other than his choices in women), and said, still chuckling, in his unique and recognizable low baritone, “Ummm… never?” “Well,” I said, “we’re going to change that. Let’s go tomorrow.” Much to my surprise, he agreed. I was visiting Jerry Doyle at his home near Las Vegas. We’d become friends through my being a repeat guest on his radio show and talking on the phone at other times about radio, business, financial markets, and his often ridiculous love life. So for a little bit of rest and relaxation I took Jerry up on his offer to stay in his guest room at his home near Summerlin, not far from the Red Rocks Casino and the spectacular natural rock formations it is named for. And we did hike. Not for very long, and not without lots of kvetching, and not without Jerry sitting down for a breather while I scrambled up some boulders. I don’t remember a lot of things in life. I don’t remember a lot of days. But that was a truly wonderful day, just hanging out with a good friend, talking about life and work and women — it bears repeating: boy was his love life complicated — and the past and the future. Jerry was a serious nicotine addict and even after being in such a beautiful and nearly pristine spot, the cigs came right out when we got into the car. Whaddya gonna do? Jerry is best known for having played Michael Garibaldi on the television show Babylon 5. I don’t think I ever told him that I never saw the show. But when we went to the sports book at Red Rocks Casino to watch (and bet on) a Broncos playoff game, a young woman came over to him to say she loved him on TV and to ask to take a picture with him. It happens a lot with Jerry, and he always obliges with a smile and a kind word. Maybe he and I get along so well because I’m not star-struck in the way that so many sci-fi fans are around him. I love his libertarianism, his sarcasm, and the fact that we have not just radio in common but also a background in finance. Before his career in television and advertising, he worked for Drexel, Burnham on Wall Street, so we really talk the same language. And boy could Jerry tell a story. Whether about trading — especially how much he hated that world — or about acting or about dating and marriage — tales you really wouldn’t believe if they were coming from anyone else — Jerry’s the best story-teller I’ve ever known. I could — and did — listen to him for hours. Jerry was more than a little bit affected by OCD. If you looked around his home, you’d see all the little white screws holding the plastic frames around electrical outlets and switches oriented so that the slot in the screw was vertical. Jerry once told me the story of how he mentioned this fact to someone at a party and, perhaps just to mess with him, the guy asked Jerry, “What about the outlet behind your refrigerator?” Jerry went home, pulled out the fridge, aligned the screw, and could breathe easy again. Jerry had had his own demons, struggles with alcohol and really I don’t know what else, that you might expect from someone who made good money on Wall Street as a young man and then found fame and fortune in Hollywood. But when I hung out with him, he never drank nor ingested any other mind- altering substance. Perhaps like most “stars” Jerry is so much more complex in real life than on a screen. Jerry just sold his house. He’s in the process of moving to a gated community that doesn’t allow kids, to simplify his life, and focus intensely on building up his EpicTimes.com website, initially an adjunct to his radio show but something which he hoped to build into an interesting and valuable business. He loves to talk about its potential, about how to raise the money to fund its growth, about how he’s going to make something he can be truly proud of. I’m probably Jerry’s most frequent guest on his radio show. Really, talking with him is always so much fun. We often get off on some tangent and just go with it for a whole segment. And then he’ll ask me to stay another segment to talk about what we planned to discuss… and I always say yes. I don’t talk about Jerry very much on my own show because we work for different broadcast networks — which is why I am particularly privileged to have been able to fill in for Jerry quite a few times when he wasn’t behind the microphone. And yet even though our companies are nominally competitors, Jerry — the gentleman that he is — always mentions my show when I join him on the air. Usually twice. Even though I got to know Jerry through radio, mostly because he enjoyed my writing for these very American Spectator pages, we developed a friendship that went well beyond radio. I don’t have lots of friends; it’s about quality not quantity. Jerry is the same way. I hope, and I think, he enjoyed and valued my friendship nearly as much as I value his. Jerry Doyle, a real mensch, was found unresponsive in his home on Wednesday. He was 60 years old. Goodbye, my friend. My life has been better for knowing you.
2016-07-30 05:01 Ross Kaminsky spectator.org
93 Syria conflict: Deadly strike on Save the Children maternity hospital An air strike has hit a maternity hospital supported by Save the Children in north-western Syria, killing two people and wounding others. The charity said several babies were hurt when incubators crashed to the floor, a pregnant woman lost a leg and two others suffered shrapnel wounds. Images show part of the building in Kafer Takhareem destroyed. It is not clear who carried out the attack. The air strike hit the entrance to the hospital in rural Idlib province. Syria Relief, the aid agency that manages the hospital, said those killed were relatives of patients. Save the Children said the hospital was the biggest in the area, carrying out more than 300 deliveries a month. At the time of the bombing, two operations were under way and a woman was in labour, a statement said. The hospital is believed to have stopped functioning, apart for the emergency department, and a generator which provided electricity for the building has been damaged. Sonia Khush, the charity's Syria director, said the bombing was "a shameful act". "There is no excuse, and unfortunately this is only the latest in a series of strikes on health facilities in Syria," she said. "We condemn these attacks, which are illegal under international law, in the strongest possible terms. We need an immediate ceasefire across Syria and an end to the appalling bombing of medical facilities. " UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a nearby civil defence building was also damaged. In other developments: Russia, a key ally of the Syrian government, said on Thursday that three humanitarian corridors from Aleppo were being opened for civilians and unarmed rebels and a fourth for armed rebels. About 300,000 people are trapped in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, under intense bombardment. Russia's announcement was welcomed cautiously by the UN, the US and some aid agencies. The US has suggested the plan may be an attempt to force the evacuation of civilians and the surrender of rebel groups in the city. US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that if the operation was "a ruse" it could disrupt US-Russian co-operation in Syria. "It has the risk, if it is a ruse, of completely breaking apart the... co- operation," he said. "On the other hand, if we're able to work it out today and have a complete understanding of what is happening and then agreement on (the) way forward, it could actually open up some possibilities. " UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said the UN supported such corridors in principle and was asking Russia for more details on how they would work. "Our suggestion to Russia is to actually leave the corridors being established at their initiative to us," Mr de Mistura told reporters in Geneva. "The UN and humanitarian partners know what to do. " He echoed calls from the UN's Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Stephen O'Brien, for a 48-hour truce to allow aid into the east of the city. "How can you expect people to want to walk through a corridor, thousands of them, while there is shelling, bombing fighting? " Mr de Mistura asked. He said the UN was "in principle and in practice in favour of humanitarian corridors under the right circumstances" but said Russia needed to provide more information on how the system would work. He reiterated that civilians who left should do so only through their own choice. The UN said on Monday that food supplies in Aleppo were expected to run out in mid-August and many medical facilities continued to be attacked. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said the three corridors for civilians and unarmed fighters would have medical posts and food handouts. The fourth corridor, in the direction of Castello Road, would be for armed militants, he said. The Syrian Observatory said on Friday that seven children were among the 28 killed in the coalition air strike on al-Ghandour village near Manbij. The US confirmed air strikes took place near Manbij on Thursday and said it was investigating claims of civilian casualties . Manbij is controlled by the so-called Islamic State group but encircled by Kurdish-led forces who are advancing with the support of coalition air strikes.
2016-07-30 05:01 www.bbc.co.uk
94 RBS performs poorly in stress tests RBS Group performed poorly in the latest European stress tests, which assess how the banks might perform in adverse economic conditions. Under the adverse conditions, RBS's capital levels fell by 7.5% - the third biggest fall of the 51 banks tested. However, RBS said the tests showed its "continued progress" in improving its balance sheet. RBS was bailed out by the government in 2008 and the UK taxpayer continues to hold a 73% stake in the bank. The health check of 51 lenders in the European Union was carried out by the London-based European Banking Authority and assessed how much capital banks would use up in adverse conditions, including an economic downturn. Under the test conditions, RBS was left with a capital buffer of just over 8%. "The EBA stress test results demonstrate our continued progress towards transforming the balance sheet to being safe and sustainable," said Ewen Stevenson, RBS chief financial officer. "We are confident that in delivering our strategy, we will transform RBS into a low risk, resilient bank," he added. Under the test conditions, Barclays' capital buffers would fall by 4% in the event of a major economic shock, leaving it with a buffer of 7.3%. Unlike in previous years, the EBA did not judge whether banks had passed or failed its latest tests. In 2014, if banks had a capital buffer of 5.5% after the stress test, then they were considered healthy, and analysts use that as an informal benchmark. Both RBS and Barclays surpassed that mark in the latest test. The Bank of England said in a statement: "The results for the four banks are consistent with those of previous Bank of England stress tests. "They provide evidence that major UK banks have the resilience necessary to maintain lending to the real economy, even in a macroeconomic stress scenario. " Allied Irish Banks, which was bailed out by Irish taxpayers, showed a near 9% fall in capital levels in the test. "AIB is well-capitalised and capital accretive. The results published today are point-in-time projections based on prescribed stress assumptions and should not be treated as indicative of the future financial performance," the bank said in a statement. Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena was by far the worst performer, with the test forecasting that 14% of its capital would be wiped out under adverse conditions. Shortly before the results of the stress test were released, Monte dei Paschi di Siena announced that it had secured the backing of a consortium of banks for a rescue plan. The plan involves the sale of €9.2bn (£7.7bn) of bad loans and an injection of €5bn of fresh capital. Founded in 1472, Monte dei Paschi is one of the world's oldest banks, but in recent years has been one of Europe's weakest, with €50bn of bad loans. Analysts were also keen to see how German banks performed under the test conditions. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank were left with capital buffers of less than 8% at the end of the test. "Commerzbank is robust and stress resistant," Commerzbank chief risk officer Marcus Chromik said in a statement. "Even under the adverse conditions of the EBA stress scenario, the stability of the Bank would be guaranteed," Mr Chromik said. After the financial crisis of 2008, US banks took hefty charges to clean-up their balance sheets, but European banks were much less aggressive, leaving them with billions of euros of poorly performing loans. "Whilst we recognise the extensive capital raising done so far, this is not a clean bill of health," EBA Chairman Andrea Enria said in a statement. "There remains work to do. "
2016-07-30 04:59 www.bbc.co.uk
95 Iraq violence: Did IS use new type of bomb for deadliest attack? On a Baghdad street once throbbing with life, there is a soft recitation of prayers, a silent lighting of candles, and quiet sobbing at the edges of charred ruins. Sweepers start to clear away debris, and drills buzz in the shells of gutted shops. But the scene of the deadliest ever attack carried out by so-called Islamic State (IS) anywhere in the world is still a makeshift shrine. On 3 July, 292 Iraqis lost their lives here. This week, the haunting strains of a cello wafted through the cavernous black hulks where two popular centres once drew in Iraqis for shopping and socialising. "If terrorists are trying to turn every element of life into a battlefield, I will turn it into a field of beauty and civilisation," declares Karim Wasifi, composer and conductor with Iraq's National Symphony Orchestra. He has played his cello at other major bomb sites in Baghdad as an affirmation of Iraqis' determination to fight back. Hardly a day goes by without an attack somewhere in a city laced with security checkpoints and armed guards. But the explosion in Baghdad's Karrada neighbourhood was no ordinary bomb. From its design to its destination, this attack underlines that IS has found a new way to inflict harm and cause terror. "Daesh used, for the first time, a new tactic which helped it to move undetected through checkpoints," a Western security source in Baghdad tells me, using the name for IS more commonly used in the region. "We've never seen it before, and it's very worrying. " Precise details of the attack, which is under Iraqi investigation, are still being pieced together. The tactic known as a VBIED - vehicle-borne improvised explosive device - is now widely used in suicide bombings. But this one is said to differ in the way the explosives were placed in the van, and how the chemicals were put together. "It's really difficult to make," an explosives expert who has knowledge of the investigation explained, saying the device may have been developed in the Iraqi city of Falluja when it was under IS control. "Daesh has given a lot of thought to how to move through checkpoints. " The bomb-makers are believed to have taken a formula "available on the internet", and then adjusted the quantities to reduce its risk of detection, and increase its impact. Several Iraqi experts also described the mix of chemicals as "unique". "We are used to big fires but the chemicals in this bomb were used for the first time in Iraq," says Brigadier General Kadhim Bashir Saleh of the Civil Defense Force. "It was unique, strange, and terrible. " Another Iraqi security expert, Hisham al-Hashimi, told me he believes a similar mix of explosives may have been used, only once, in an attack by al- Qaeda in 2004. But he describes this new tactic deployed by IS as "very serious and dangerous". The van exploded on the narrow street just after midnight shortly before Eid Festival when shops were packed with families, football fans were glued to big screens, and the billiard hall was doing brisk business. Several say the heat created by the first blast was "as hot as the surface of the sun". The explosion left no gaping crater, and its impact did not wreck the nearest buildings. But it set off secondary fires which turned out to be the most deadly of all. Their devastating impact was then multiplied by a series of safety failures. "There were no fire escapes," laments Sadiq Maroof, a shopkeeper who was one of a small number of people who escaped alive. He takes me through the skeletal remains of the Laith Centre, from the blackened basement where he once ran two popular clothing shops, to the second floor room where he fled for his life. "The stairs behind me were on fire so we pulled a window out of its frame and jumped. " "There had been two escapes," he says, still visibly angry and upset. This tragedy took the lives of nine people from his own family and many close friends. "The first floor exit had been turned into a shop and the second floor escape became a storage room. " Several experts estimated the initial bomb would have killed 20-30 people. The ensuing inferno then trapped many inside. "The absence of fire escapes and safety regulations caused the highest number of casualties," says retired Brigadier General Khalaf Abdul Karim who was at the scene that night. "We could hear people trapped inside desperately calling their family and friends for help. In those minutes some could have been saved. " The fire tore through shops with cheap styrofoam walls and bad wiring, with perfumes and other goods fuelling the flames. Each time we went to the street, grieving relatives approached us with harsh words for their emergency services, accusing them of arriving too late, and of not doing enough. When I ask Chief Sergeant Habib Dewan about the accusations, he immediately bursts into tears. "We normally reach the scene in 4-5 minutes but we reached it in 8- 10 minutes," the fireman says. "I've never seen anything like it," he says of the blazing orange fireball which engulfed the entire street. "We were ready to jump into the fire to save people. We did everything we could but this was an over-whelming attack. " There are many Iraqi stories about how a van was able to enter a street only used for pedestrian traffic. Some versions speak of a driver carrying official badges, others of the complicity of the security guards at the nearest checkpoints. But this biggest single attack on civilians since the Iraq war of 2003 has finally focused official attention on the widespread use of detector "wands" which were proven long ago to be fake. In the wake of this bombing, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi finally ordered their removal from checkpoints. "Well - trained sniffer dogs are what's needed to stop these devices " says one explosives expert in Baghdad. Security experts say even IS may not have expected to inflict such a high number of casualties in their Karrada bombing. "They got lucky," is how one put it. But life was pulled out of a Baghdad neighbourhood which still mourns its great loss.
2016-07-30 04:59 By Lyse www.bbc.co.uk
96 Verizon to acquire Yahoo's operating business BASKING RIDGE, N. J. , and SUNNYVALE, Calif. , July 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Communications Inc. ( NYSE , Nasdaq: VZ) and Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) today announce they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Verizon will acquire Yahoo's operating business for approximately $4.83 billion in cash, subject to customary closing adjustments. Yahoo informs, connects and entertains a global audience of more than 1 billion monthly active users** -- including 600 million monthly active mobile users*** through its search, communications and digital content products. Yahoo also connects advertisers with target audiences through a streamlined advertising technology stack that combines the power of their data, content and technology. Lowell McAdam , Verizon Chairman and CEO, said: "Just over a year ago we acquired AOL to enhance our strategy of providing a cross-screen connection for consumers, creators and advertisers. The acquisition of Yahoo will put Verizon in a highly competitive position as a top global mobile media company, and help accelerate our revenue stream in digital advertising. " Yahoo will be integrated with AOL under Marni Walden , EVP and President of the Product Innovation and New Businesses organization at Verizon. Marissa Mayer , CEO of Yahoo , said: " Yahoo is a company that has changed the world, and will continue to do so through this combination with Verizon and AOL. The sale of our operating business, which effectively separates our Asian asset equity stakes, is an important step in our plan to unlock shareholder value for Yahoo. This transaction also sets up a great opportunity for Yahoo to build further distribution and accelerate our work in mobile, video, native advertising and social. " Mayer added, " Yahoo and AOL popularized the Internet , email, search and real-time media. It's poetic to be joining forces with AOL and Verizon as we enter our next chapter focused on achieving scale on mobile. We have a terrific, loyal, experienced and quality team, and I couldn't be prouder of our achievements to date, including building our new lines of business to $1.6 billion in GAAP revenue in 2015. I'm excited to extend our momentum through this transaction. " Tim Armstrong , CEO of AOL, said: "Our mission at AOL is to build brands people love, and we will continue to invest in and grow them. Yahoo has been a long-time investor in premium content and created some of the most beloved consumer brands in key categories like sports, news and finance. " Under Armstrong, AOL has invested in and grown global premium brands, including The Huffington Post , TechCrunch, Engadget, MAKERS and AOL.com , and market-leading programmatic platforms -- including ONE by AOL for both advertisers and publishers. Armstrong added, "We have enormous respect for what Yahoo has accomplished: this transaction is about unleashing Yahoo's full potential, building upon our collective synergies, and strengthening and accelerating that growth. Combining Verizon , AOL and Yahoo will create a new powerful competitive rival in mobile media, and an open, scaled alternative offering for advertisers and publishers. " The addition of Yahoo to Verizon and AOL will create one of the largest portfolios of owned and partnered global brands with extensive distribution capabilities. Combined, AOL and Yahoo will have more than 25 brands in its portfolio for continued investment and growth. Yahoo's key assets include market-leading premium content brands in major categories including finance, news and sports, as well as one of the most popular email services globally with approximately 225 million monthly active users****. Additional technology assets in the advertising space include Brightroll , a programmatic demand-side platform; Flurry, an independent mobile apps analytics service; and Gemini, a native and search advertising solution. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions, approval by Yahoo's shareholders, and regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in Q1 of 2017. Until the closing, Yahoo will continue to operate independently, offering and improving its own products and services for users, advertisers, developers and partners. Verizon will generally issue cash-settled Verizon RSUs for Yahoo RSUs that are outstanding at the close. The sale does not include Yahoo's cash, its shares in Alibaba Group Holdings , its shares in Yahoo Japan, Yahoo's convertible notes, certain minority investments, and Yahoo's non-core patents (called the Excalibur portfolio). These assets will continue to be held by Yahoo , which will change its name at closing and become a registered, publicly traded investment company. Yahoo will provide additional information about the investment company at a future date. Yahoo intends to return substantially all of its net cash to shareholders and will determine and communicate a specific capital return strategy at an appropriate time. LionTree Advisors, LLC, Allen & Company LLC , Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Guggenheim Securities, LLC are acting as financial advisors to Verizon. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP , Covington & Burling LLP and Winston & Strawn LLP are acting as legal advisors to Verizon. Goldman, Sachs & Co., J. P. Morgan Securities LLC and PJT Partners are acting as financial advisors to the Yahoo Board and its Strategic Review Committee. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP , Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP are acting as legal advisors to Yahoo. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is independent legal advisor to Yahoo's Strategic Review Committee. Yahoo will hold an investor call at 5:30 a.m. Pacific/ 8:30 a.m. Eastern today. Investors can dial in at (866) 593-9949 and investors outside the U. S. can dial in at (973) 935-8154, using the conference ID 55971720. The call will be hosted by Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and Yahoo CFO Ken Goldman. Yahoo will also make the Chair of the Strategic Review Committee, Tom McInerney , and Yahoo Chairman of the Board Maynard Webb available for questions. Verizon will announce second-quarter 2016 results tomorrow, July 26. To provide further context for investors about this transaction and other strategic initiatives, McAdam will participate in Verizon's earnings webcast beginning 8:30 a.m. Eastern tomorrow. Access instructions and presentation materials, including Verizon's earnings release, will be available at 7 a.m. on Verizon's Investor Relations website, www.verizon.com/about/investors/ . *B ased on Yahoo internal metrics, Jan. 2016 and AOL Internal, June 2016 ** Yahoo internal user metrics, Jan. 2016 *** Yahoo internal user metrics, Jan 2016 **** Yahoo internal user metrics, Jan. 2016. Mail monthly active users includes 58M IMAP/POP only users - ie. Yahoo monthly users that access their mail using other companies mail application About Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. ( NYSE , Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York City , generated nearly $132 billion in 2015 revenues. Verizon operates America's most reliable wireless network, with 112.6 million retail connections nationwide. The company also provides communications and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers worldwide. About AOL AOL is a media technology company with a mission to connect consumers and creators through open marketplaces. AOL uses data to disrupt content production, distribution and monetization. The company connects publishers with advertisers across its global, programmatic platforms, tapping into Microsoft inventory and original content brands like TechCrunch, The Huffington Post and MAKERS, which reach over 500 million monthly global consumers. Within its mobile advertising network alone, AOL has a reach of roughly 600 million users. A subsidiary of Verizon , AOL is shaping the digital future. About Yahoo Yahoo is a guide to digital information discovery, focused on informing, connecting, and entertaining users through its search, communications, and digital content products. By creating highly personalized experiences, Yahoo helps users discover the information that matters most to them around the world -- on mobile or desktop. Yahoo connects advertisers with target audiences through a streamlined advertising technology stack that combines the power of Yahoo's data, content, and technology. Yahoo is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California , and has offices located throughout the Americas , Asia Pacific (APAC) and the Europe , Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions. For more information, visit the pressroom ( pressroom.yahoo.net ) or the Company's blog ( yahoo.tumblr.com ). Yahoo!, the Yahoo family of marks, and the associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Yahoo! Inc. Other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Important Additional Information and Where to Find It. Yahoo will be filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the " SEC ") a proxy statement regarding the proposed sale of Yahoo's operating business to Verizon Communications Inc. , the definitive version of which will be sent or provided to Yahoo stockholders. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING DECISION, YAHOO'S STOCKHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO READ YAHOO'S PROXY STATEMENT IN ITS ENTIRETY (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE THEREIN BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Investors and stockholders will be able to obtain (when available) a free copy of Yahoo's proxy statement, any amendments or supplements to the proxy statement, and other documents filed by Yahoo with the SEC (when available) in connection with the proposed transaction for no charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov , on the Investor Relations page of Yahoo's website investor.yahoo.net or by writing to Investor Relations, Yahoo! Inc., 701 First Avenue , Sunnyvale, CA 94089. Yahoo and its directors and executive officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from its investors and stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction. Information concerning the ownership of Yahoo securities by Yahoo's directors and executive officers is included in their SEC filings on Forms 3, 4 and 5, and additional information is also available in Yahoo's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 , as amended, and Yahoo's proxy statement for its 2016 annual meeting of stockholders filed with the SEC on May 23, 2016. Information regarding Yahoo's directors, executive officers and other persons who may, under the rules of the SEC , be considered participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed transaction, including their respective interests by security holdings or otherwise, also will be set forth in the definitive proxy statement relating to the proposed transaction when it is filed with the SEC. These documents may be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above. Verizon Forward-Looking Statements In this communication Verizon has made forward-looking statements. These statements are based on our estimates and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include the information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations. Forward- looking statements also include those preceded or followed by the words "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "hopes" or similar expressions. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward- looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following important factors, along with those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the " SEC "), could affect future results and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward- looking statements: adverse conditions in the U. S. and international economies; the effects of competition in the markets in which we operate; material changes in technology or technology substitution; disruption of our key suppliers' provisioning of products or services; changes in the regulatory environment in which we operate, including any increase in restrictions on our ability to operate our networks; breaches of network or information technology security, natural disasters, terrorist attacks or acts of war or significant litigation and any resulting financial impact not covered by insurance; our high level of indebtedness; an adverse change in the ratings afforded our debt securities by nationally accredited ratings organizations or adverse conditions in the credit markets affecting the cost, including interest rates, and/or availability of further financing; material adverse changes in labor matters, including labor negotiations, and any resulting financial and/or operational impact; significant increases in benefit plan costs or lower investment returns on plan assets; changes in tax laws or treaties, or in their interpretation; changes in accounting assumptions that regulatory agencies, including the SEC , may require or that result from changes in the accounting rules or their application, which could result in an impact on earnings; and the inability to implement our business strategies. Yahoo's Forward Looking Statements This press release (including, without limitation, the quotations from management) contains forward-looking statements concerning the proposed sale of Yahoo's operating business. Risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ materially from the results predicted. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among others: (i) the inability to consummate the transaction in a timely manner or at all, due to the inability to obtain or delays in obtaining the stockholder approval, necessary regulatory approvals for the transaction or satisfaction of other conditions to the closing of the transaction; (ii) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the purchase agreement; (iii) the potential adverse effect on Yahoo's partner, advertiser, vendor and customer relationships, operating results and business generally resulting from the announcement of the transaction; (iv) the implementation of the transaction which will require significant time, attention and resources of Yahoo's senior management and others within Yahoo , potentially diverting their attention from other aspects of Yahoo's business; (v) risks related to Yahoo's ability to retain or recruit key talent; (vi) the costs, fees, expenses and charges related to or triggered by the transaction; (vii) potential adverse effects on Yahoo's business, properties or operations caused by Yahoo implementing the transaction; (viii) the anticipated benefits of transaction to Yahoo's stockholders may not be realized; and (ix) the initiation or outcome of any legal proceedings or regulatory proceedings that may be instituted against Yahoo relating to the transaction. More information about other potential factors that could affect Yahoo's business and financial results is included under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in Yahoo's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 , as amended, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 , which are on file with the SEC and available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. All information set forth in this communication is as of July 25, 2016. Yahoo does not intend, and undertakes no duty, to update this information to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. MEDIA CONTACTS: AOL Caroline Campbell 404-444-7970 [email protected] Verizon Bob Varettoni 908-559-6388 [email protected] Yahoo Anne Espiritu 408-349-4040 [email protected] IR CONTACTS: Verizon Mike Stefanski 908-559-8018 [email protected] Yahoo Joon Huh 408-349-3382 [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160527/373129LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/verizon-to-acquire-yahoos- operating-business-300303133.html SOURCE Verizon
2016-07-30 04:42 investor.yahoo.net
97 Clearing Germany's migrant backlog German Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended her policies on refugees, in the wake of recent terror attacks. As tensions grow, the government is still trying to deal with the large number of migrants who took advantage of Germany's open borders last year. There were endless corridors where officials bustled through with files, offices with computers, microscopes and fingerprint-readers. I saw signs for medical centres and canteens - some places freshly painted, others still being renovated. Security staff were watchful, translators wrestled with all kinds of languages. In individual rooms, intense conversations were under way between officials and families about life stories and dramatic journeys. Anxious children looked up from parental laps, some playing with toys, others restless in stuffy waiting rooms. Waiting is the key to this place. For this is a new centre designed to end the long wait for hundreds of thousands of people who came to Germany last year as migrants - and who do not yet know whether they will be allowed to stay. Merkel rules out migrant reversal What is going on in Germany? Ansbach attacker: From asylum seeker to IS suicide bomber "Welcome culture" was the phrase used as Germany suddenly opened its borders. Since then, the flow of migrants into Germany has hugely decreased as borders have closed and agreements such as the EU's deal with Turkey have kept many would-be migrants well away from Germany. But the legacy of last year's mass arrivals is still very tricky for Germany - and even more so given recent violent incidents, some of which have been linked to recent migrants. I was given special access to a new centre designed to show how Germany is responding to the crisis. In the city of Bonn, it is a centre for processing asylum applications - one of more than 20 planned to deal with a huge backlog. The numbers are staggering. "We are pretty certain that by the end of the year everybody who came last year will have their application decided," I was told by Katrin Hirseland, from the Federal Ministry for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). How many applications will have to be dealt with? "It will be somewhere between 800,000 and 1,000,000. " This presents a huge challenge for the government. How will it be done? In Bonn, the ministry has taken over the Ermekeilkaserne - once an army barracks. It is a site full of history. In the 1950s, when Bonn was the capital of the new West German state, the defence ministry was based here when the country was allowed an army again despite the horrors of Nazism. Those horrors had persuaded Germany to create a generous law on political asylum for those fleeing persecution. But it never imagined so many would come in such a short time. Armin Moers, who runs this new centre, is a hugely energetic individual keen to show me how the system will work. Up to 800 migrants a day could be brought here and their cases processed and decided in as little as 24 hours. He showed me how migrants were registered and fingerprinted and their documents checked. Many arrive without documents - either lost or deliberately destroyed, as asylum applicants know only those from certain countries will be accepted as genuine refugees. In one room, I saw special equipment and computers used to detect forged documents. One floor houses the crucial rooms where individual asylum hearings take place. In one, I saw a Syrian family where the mother and son had just been removed so the asylum adjudicator could check the husband's story against that of his wife. I listened as the adjudicator - a young, very focused woman - asked the husband about his journey from Syria, the details of where he had lived and how he had travelled. Adjudicators all have access to a huge ministry database where they can cross-check stories as they decide whether applications are deserving. The husband looked anxious, which is hardly surprising. These hearings, which can take up to six hours, will determine the course of thousands of lives. A computer network links what happens here to many other government agencies. The aim, said Mr Moers, was to ensure that genuine asylum applicants could be helped swiftly to integrate into German society. But about 40% of those applying for asylum in Germany are being turned down. That means hundreds of thousands will be due for removal. The idea of forced deportations is especially troubling given Germany's history. Only about 22,000 were forcibly removed last year. The government hopes to persuade many of those refused asylum to return voluntarily. But some are already opting to disappear from official view, living underground, trying to avoid removal. They can be vulnerable to economic and criminal exploitation, as well as radicalisation. At the Bonn processing centre, I sensed a constant anxiety about security too. Asylum applicants are not allowed to move around alone, and can leave the centre only with official permission. And Mr Moers told me he did not want to give applicants a final verdict on their status here as he worried about a wave of anger threatening the security of his staff and other migrants - including children - at the centre. While the government acts, how has German society as whole responded to last year's influx? I found a fascinating debate under way just a few yards away from the Bonn processing centre, in some buildings used by a local citizens' initiative. They had been hoping to take over the empty barracks for community use, until the BAMF arrived. Members have been helping migrants who arrived last year. "It was amazing," Ute Harres, from the initiative, told me. "It basically overwhelmed us. " Local people donated everything from clothes to bicycles. And the initiative is still active, with projects such as cookery sessions bringing together children from local and migrant families. At the same time, Ms Harres said, last year's arrivals had "brought up questions of immigration that have not really been tackled before". Germany has had previous waves of migration - such as Turkish "guest workers" and refugees from former Yugoslavia. But many of its people and politicians have always denied that Germany was "a country of immigration". Now, said Ms Harres, people were debating how well integration was working, whether there were "parallel societies" in Germany. People with reservations were "too quickly judged as extremists," she said. "You need to be able to say, 'I'm right in the middle. I have reservations, but I'm also here to be open and welcome people.'" So last year's "welcome culture" has not disappeared. Many still want Germany to honour its generous recent tradition of asylum. But there are worries too. In a place like the Bonn processing centre, another priority is clear. In increasingly insecure times, the government desperately wants to show it is getting a grip.
2016-07-30 04:07 By Chris www.bbc.co.uk
98 Bikini-clad Swedish policewoman 'stops thief' A bikini-clad Swedish police officer has been praised for tackling a suspected thief while she was off-duty sunbathing with friends in Stockholm. Mikaela Kellner told the Aftonbladet daily that she and a fellow officer pursued the man when they realised he had taken one of their mobile phones. She told the paper that she would have intervened "even if she were naked". A photo of the incident on Ms Kellner's Instagram page has attracted more than 9,000 likes in less than two days. The incident is said to have taken place in Stockholm's Ralambshov Park on Wednesday, where the off-duty policewoman was sunbathing with friends. The group was approached by a man who claimed to be selling publications on behalf of the homeless. Ms Kellner reportedly became suspicious when the man began lingering, setting some papers down over their blanket. As soon as he left, collecting his papers, one of her friends noticed that her phone was missing. "There was no time, so I ran after him, maybe 15 metres or so," Ms Kellner told Swedish news site, The Local. "One of my friends is also a police officer, so we got hold of him. He tried to get away so we held onto him harder. " The stolen phone was swiftly recovered, and the man was arrested by a police patrol. "I've had a lot of positive comments both from friends and colleagues," she told The Local. "It happens all the time that valuables are taken like this... I mainly just wanted to raise awareness of how cunning these people are, almost like magicians. "
2016-07-30 04:07 www.bbc.co.uk
99 Testing times for Europe's banks The results of European bank "stress tests" have been announced, with the aim of establishing how well the banks could cope with a new financial shock. Banks have done them on their own account for many years. But this type of exercise has been adopted by official regulators in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008. What has been tested? In short, the resilience of the banks. Some 51 European Union banks were tested covering 70% of the sector. The exercise covered the eurozone and the rest of the EU - including the UK. Regulators have looked at how well banks would stand up under two scenarios up to the end of 2018. There's a "baseline scenario" that assumes continued - though unspectacular - economic growth, in line with most mainstream forecasts. Then there's an adverse one that involves a recession and would lead to more problem loans, and lower profits or losses. The key question being asked is how would banks' financial foundations - their capital - hold up? How much would they have left under these scenarios and how would that compare with the amount they are required to have under banking rules? A stress test looks at how much a bank might lose and whether it would still have a decent amount of capital to keep trading and take any losses that it might be hit by in the future. What is bank capital? Capital is a financial measure of a bank's strength, its ability to withstand losses. It is the value of a bank's assets minus its liabilities or debts. A bank's assets include cash, loans and securities, while its liabilities cover customer deposits, and money it owes to other banks and bondholders. So where does it come from? Two key sources are the money put in by shareholders and profits the bank makes and does not hand out to the shareholders as dividends (known as retained profits). If a bank has a bad year and loses money the amount of capital falls. Shareholders typically see the value of their holding fall, but the bank should still be able pay its debts. If that process goes too far, however, the capital can be wiped out and if the bank can't pay its debts then it's insolvent - bust. The international financial crisis was in part the result of banks not having enough capital to cope with losses on problem loans and complicated financial securities. The bailouts consisted partly of governments providing additional capital which gave taxpayers a shareholding. (Some of this has been repaid or the shares sold off by the government concerned). One of the main aims of reforms to bank regulation since the crisis has been to ensure that they are not caught with insufficient capital in future. What are the stress test scenarios? The key one is the adverse scenario. An ECB official described this hypothetical scenario as a "severe economic downturn". Under this scenario, the eurozone economies, the EU and the UK all contract in 2016 and 2017 - only resuming growth, though not very strongly, in 2018. All of them end up nearly 7% smaller than they would have been in the baseline scenario. The weakness is assumed to be the result of setbacks to the domestic economy, to foreign economies and to the financial system in the shape of higher interest rates, lower share prices and lower property prices. Higher rates and lower asset prices increase the risk of loans not being paid and of there being inadequate security to sell and cover losses if the borrower does default. The stress tests look at how these shocks would affect the values of banks' assets, their profitability and the amount of capital they would end up holding. Who does the tests? The banks themselves make the initial assessments of how they would be affected in the stress test scenarios. Their results are challenged by the supervisors. In the UK that means the Bank of England, and for the large banks in the eurozone, the European Central Bank. The exercise is co-ordinated by the European Banking Authority. Is there are pass/fail threshold? Unlike previous stress tests there is no pass/fail threshold for the level of capital. But the estimates for how much any bank would have under the various scenarios will feed into the regular assessments made by supervisors. A bank that comes out of a stress test really badly could ultimately have to be bailed out or bailed in - this latter is a process in which creditors have to take losses to keep the bank afloat. The tests could eventually lead to some banks having to raise more capital, or face restrictions on the amount of profits they can distribute to their shareholders - because if profits are not distributed they boost a bank's capital. Any particular problem areas? Overall the ECB appears relatively comfortable with the amount of capital held by eurozone's banks. "The ECB perceives the current level of capital in the euro area banks to be satisfactory and intends to keep the supervisory capital demand stable," says Korbinian Ibel, a senior ECB official. "As the banks went into this stress test with a higher average capital ratio than in earlier years and are overall more resilient, the stress test results are not expected to lead to an increase of the overall level of capital demand in the system. " But there have been concerns in recent months about the problem loans weighing down some Italian and Portuguese banks. Deutsche Bank , Germany's biggest, is seen by the International Monetary Fund as a potential risk to international financial stability and its share price is low compared to the value of the bank's assets and liabilities. That said, it is not in immediate danger, though its US operation, along with that of the Spanish bank Santander, did fail stress tests conducted by the US Federal Reserve earlier this year.
2016-07-30 04:07 By Andrew www.bbc.co.uk
100 What is the named person scheme? The Scottish government wanted to appoint a "named person" to monitor the welfare of every child in Scotland from 31 August. But that timetable looks likely to be delayed after the Supreme Court ruled that some of the proposals around information sharing breached the right to privacy and a family life under the European Convention on Human Rights. Opponents of the scheme had been attempting to have it quashed by the law courts, arguing that the legislation amounts to a "Big Brother" scheme that will undermine parents, breach privacy and divert resources away from children who are genuinely vulnerable. But many children's charities say the scheme will help ensure more cases of child abuse and neglect are uncovered and dealt with. So what is the named person scheme, and why is it so controversial? The Scottish government wants Scotland to be "the best place in the world for children to grow up". It has said that most children and young people get all the help and support they need from their parents, wider family and community, but sometimes they might need a bit of extra support. As part of its Getting it Right for Every Child strategy, the government proposed giving all children and young people from birth to 18 years access to a named person under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. The law had been due to come into force across the country on 31 August of this year, but the policy had already been rolled out in parts of Scotland, including Highland, Edinburgh, Fife, Angus and South Ayrshire. The Scottish government says the named person is intended to be single point of contact if a child or their parents want information or advice, or if they want to talk about any worries and seek support. They would also be a point of contact for other services if they have any concerns about a child's wellbeing. In the vast majority of cases, the named person would be a midwife, health visitor, head teacher, deputy head teacher or guidance teacher, depending on the age of the child. Other organisations, such as independent or grant-aided schools and the Scottish Prison Service (for young people held in custody), will also have a legal requirement to make a named person available to the children and young people in their care. The Scottish government says that children and families are likely to see little difference, with the legislation merely formalising the role that these professionals already have. According to the Scottish government , the named person would be available to "listen, advise and help a child or young person and their family". They would also provide direct support and help the child and their family access other services, for example speech and language therapists or bereavement counselling services. The named person would also be responsible for helping families to address any concerns as early as possible in order to prevent them becoming more serious. But the government has stressed that the named person would only offer advice or support in response to a request from a child or parent, or when "wellbeing needs are identified". Other organisations or professionals such as a GP would share information with the named person if they believe it is likely to help safeguard the child's welfare. This would be done in discussion with the child and their parents, unless there was a child protection concern. The new law sets out the steps for professionals to follow to make sure the right information is shared at the right time to support the wellbeing of the child where concerns arise or a need has been identified. The No To Named Persons campaign group has described named person as "the most calamitous scheme the Scottish government has ever dreamed up". The group is comprised of organisations such as the Christian Institute, Family Education Trust, The Young ME Sufferers ("Tymes") Trust and Care (Christian Action Research and Education). It lists ten concerns on its website , including: The group has claimed the legislation breaches European Human Rights laws, and appealed to the Supreme Court in London after having its case thrown out by the Court of Session in Edinburgh last year . A panel of three judges at the Court of Session had ruled that named persons have "no effect whatsoever on the legal, moral or social relationships within the family". The judges added: "The assertion to the contrary, without any supporting basis, has the appearance of hyperbole. " But the Supreme Court has now ruled that some parts of the legislation do breach rights to privacy and a family life under the European Convention on Human Rights. Named person has also been strongly criticised by the Conservatives, with Prime Minister David Cameron describing it as "absurd" in a speech to the party's Scottish conference . Some organisations have warned that the legislation's wording meant the role of the named person was open to wide interpretation. And the Scottish Parent Teacher Council published the results of an online survey in 2013 which it said suggested "high levels of concern" from parents about the proposals. Major children's charities including Barnardo's, Aberlour, Action for Children and Children 1st have accused opponents of the scheme of making "inaccurate and unjustified" statements about named person. In a joint statement , the four charities said a named person would help to connect families more effectively to a range of services when they are needed without "excessive red tape or delay". And they said the named person would be somebody that the family already knows and would be happy to approach. Supporters have also pointed to the "great success" of a pilot scheme in the Highlands, which Barnardo's said had helped ensure that children get the help they need, when they need it. Barnardo's has also said that "giving a health visitor or teacher formal responsibility for collating information is a key part of the early warning system we need to make sure every child in Scotland is protected. " Supporters have also pointed out that the named person would not be a new person in a child's life, but would merely give a stronger role to an existing member of staff. Alistair Gaw, the president of Social Work Scotland has said that named persons would be most effective in situations such as helping parents co- ordinate services for a child with a disability, or getting help or a diagnosis for a child who is struggling to learn.
2016-07-30 04:07 By Stuart www.bbc.co.uk
Total 100 articles. Created at 2016-07-30 06:01