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Total 100 articles, created at 2016-07-17 06:01 1 France terror: Who were the Nice attack victims?

(5.24/6) PARIS, France — Victims of the Nice truck attack included three generations of a family out for a stroll, an 11-year-old boy from Texas and a French father protecting his pregnant wife. The 2016-07-17 06:00 6KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 2 US election: Donald Trump unveils running mate Mike Pence (3.08/6) Donald Trump introduces Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his "solid" running mate, completing the Republican ticket for the presidential election. 2016-07-17 02:45 3KB www.bbc.co.uk 3 Attempted Coup In Turkey Could Cause US Gas Prices To Spike (2.06/6) An attempted coup late Friday in Turkey could cause the price of gasoline and oil to drastically increase in America. Elements of Turkey’s army claimed to have seized power, flew warplanes ov 2016-07-17 02:47 2KB dailycaller.com 4 If Turkey’s Military Coup Fails At this hour, it appears that the military coup in Turkey has failed with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan back on Turkish soil. If... (2.06/6) 2016-07-17 02:47 1KB spectator.org 5 Turkish Military Occupy Strategic Locations In Attempted Coup TURKEY-POLITICS-MILITARY-COUP A man is shot during clashes (2.06/6) between Turkish solders and police near Taksim square in Istanbul on July 16, 2016... 2016-07-17 02:46 9KB cbsloc.al 6 Notorious Cleveland crimes As the national spotlight turns to Cleveland for the Republican National Convention, a look back at some of the city's most (1.02/6) infamous crimes 2016-07-17 02:46 7KB www.cbsnews.com 7 Boris Johnson Promises U. K. Will Safeguard Gibraltar Post-Brexit Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson reaffirmed Britain's commitment (1.00/6) to Gibraltar on Saturday and said it would fully involve the territory in its discussions with the European Union following last month's vote to leave the bloc. Johnson told Chief Minister Fabian Picardo in talks in London that Britain would... 2016-07-17 00:00 941Bytes article.wn.com 8 British Open showdown: Stenson leads Mickelson by a shot British Open showdown: Stenson leads Mickelson by a shot (1.00/6) Associated Press - 16 July 2016 16:56-04:00 News Topics: General news, Sports, British Open Golf, Men's golf, Men's sports, Golf, Events People, Places and Companies:... 2016-07-17 00:00 1KB article.wn.com 9 Sudan's al-Bashir, attending Rwanda summit, defies the ICC Sudan's al-Bashir, attending Rwanda summit, defies the ICC (1.00/6) Associated Press - 16 July 2016 14:52-04:00 News Topics: General news, Summits, Human rights and civil liberties, Government and politics, Courts, International relations, Social issues, Social... 2016-07-17 00:00 1KB article.wn.com 10 What the bookies know about horse-racing - and politics When idealists go to battle: why the Spanish Civil War still matters (0.17/6) My week, including the social mix at Newmarket and how to handle the worst name-droppers. 2016-07-17 02:45 18KB www.newstatesman.com 11 Will there ever be another girl band like the Spice Girls? Anohni explores a complex relationship between the self, politics and pop (0.03/6) Following the 20th anniversary of “Wannabe”, are pop stars like the Spice Girls a thing of the past? 2016-07-17 02:45 11KB www.newstatesman.com 12 Labour's new election rules are no match for Jeremy Corbyn voters Word of the week: Mayssacre (0.02/6) Raising the barriers for participation in the Labour leadership poll won't put Corbyn voters off. 2016-07-17 02:45 5KB www.newstatesman.com 13 Debating Trident now is a nakedly political act Word of the week: Mayssacre There is no urgent need for a debate about the UK's nuclear (0.01/6) programme. 2016-07-17 02:45 5KB www.newstatesman.com 14 What would we do if GPS failed? Ukip donor Arron Banks wants to fund a new political party – how would it work? (0.01/6) As our dependence on the Global Positioning System grows, a potential failure of its satellites would spell disaster. 2016-07-17 02:45 8KB www.newstatesman.com

15 Military families sent loved ones body armor to make up for shortages in Iraq frontline kit — RT UK British soldiers serving in Iraq suffered such serious kit shortages during the 2003 invasion and occupation their own families would mail them basic equipment including body armor, it has been claimed. 2016-07-17 06:00 2KB www.rt.com 16 Nice attack prompts Donald Trump to postpone VP announcement — RT America Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has postponed the announcement of his vice presidential pick in light of the attack in Nice which left 84 dead and more than 100 injured. 2016-07-17 06:00 1KB www.rt.com 17 Koreans egg PM for defending US antimissile deployment (VIDEO) — RT News South Korean protesters egged Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn as he was apologizing to the people of Seongju County for not asking them if they wanted American antimissiles to be deployed. 2016-07-17 06:00 2KB www.rt.com 18 #PrayForNice engulfs Twitter in wake of tragedy — RT News In the wake of the Nice massacre which killed 84 people, #PrayForNice and #JeSuisNice have been trending online, echoing the all-too-recent outpouring of grief and frustration following the Paris attacks. 2016-07-17 06:00 2KB www.rt.com 19 National Freedom Party out of the elections after losing last gasp bid The National Freedom Party (NFP) will not contest the local government elections in August‚ throwing the party’s survival into doubt. 2016-07-17 06:00 2KB www.timeslive.co.za 20 ‘SA unashamedly parades love for censorship on international stage’: DA What does South Africa have in common with China‚ Russia and North Korea? “Poor human rights track records 2016-07-17 06:00 873Bytes www.timeslive.co.za

21 Cricket SA fired me for social media reaction, says Australia-bound HD Ackerman Cricket SA (CSA) have dumped HD Ackerman as host of their awards dinner in response to reaction over his decision to move to Australia‚ the SuperSport commentator and former test batsman says. 2016-07-17 06:00 1KB www.timeslive.co.za 22 DA: ‘ANC candidates list represents corruption‚ declining service delivery and unemployment’ The Democratic Alliance says the mayoral candidates list announced by the ANC on Saturday night represents corruption‚ declining service delivery and unemployment. 2016-07-17 06:00 2KB www.timeslive.co.za 23 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. 2016-07-17 06:00 2KB www.timeslive.co.za 24 SABC CEO Jimi Matthews quits: ‘What’s happening at the SABC is wrong' Acting South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) CEO Jimi Matthews has apparently resigned‚ citing having been “complicit in many decisions which I am not proud of”. 2016-07-17 06:00 2KB www.timeslive.co.za 25 John Terry will remain Chelsea's captain, says new boss Antonio Conte Long-serving defender John Terry will remain Chelsea's captain in the coming season, new manager Antonio Conte said on Thursday at his first news conference since joining the Premier League club. 2016-07-17 06:00 2KB www.timeslive.co.za 26 ‘Brexit and the shanty town between France and Britain’ by Maite Nkoana-Mashabane International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane has raised eyebrows with yet another display of 2016-07-17 06:00 4KB www.timeslive.co.za 27 Sundowns edge closer to African Champions League semifinals Mamelodi Sundowns can effectively seal a place in the semifinals of the African Champions League if they claim victory over Egyptian giants Zamalek in Cairo on Sunday. 2016-07-17 06:00 4KB www.timeslive.co.za

28 Disqualifying NFP from polls violates voters’ constitutional rights: EFF The National Freedom Party (NFP) received the backing of another opposition party in the difficulties it’s facing regards its participation in the August 3 municipal polls. 2016-07-17 06:00 2KB www.timeslive.co.za 29 NBA: Heat exec Riley ‘floored’ by Wade’s departure MIAMI, United States — Miami Heat president Pat Riley admitted Saturday that the departure of veteran Dwyane Wade "floored" him and he regretted not taking a more active role in talks 2016-07-17 06:00 2KB sports.inquirer.net 30 SpaceX launching space station docking port for Nasa CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX aims to launch another load of space station supplies for Nasa, including a critical docking port needed by new U. S. crew capsules set to debut next 2016-07-17 06:00 3KB technology.inquirer.net 31 Workers to Duterte: Right wrongs A MILITANT labor group yesterday urged President Duterte to hold his predecessor accountable for “crimes against workers,” as they challenged him to keep his word to end 2016-07-17 05:58 2KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 32 Trash in cities gets Duterte ire NOTING that intelligence and discretionary funds were the easiest to pocket, President Duterte said he planned to create a special team to look into how local officials used their 2016-07-17 05:57 2KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 33 Phony e-mails not ours—BOC The Bureau of Customs (BOC) warned the public not to fall victim to spam and phishing e-mails supposedly from the agency. This after the BOC received reports some brokers and traders had 2016-07-17 05:56 1KB technology.inquirer.net 34 Teachers’ reps seek probe of killing of lumad, tutors TWO PARTY-LIST lawmakers have asked President Duterte to look into the killing of a lumad leader and two teachers and the wounding of two others in Davao City and Cotabato City last week. ACT 2016-07-17 05:55 3KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 35 Quake deaths forgotten, but lessons remain BAGUIO CITY—Over a thousand people died on July 16 26 years ago when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake toppled houses and buildings in the summer capital. Families fled and investments disappeared as 2016-07-17 05:54 3KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 36 ‘Poorer provinces to get equal share of pie in federal system’ THE DUTERTE administration is planning to group poor provinces with their more wealthy neighbors in dividing the Philippines under a proposed federal form of government. Incoming Speaker 2016-07-17 05:52 3KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 37 Asheville Skips the Chaos, National Attention KMorgan 1330 posts 2016-07-17 03:50 4KB www.thetribunepapers.com 38 Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, budding wide receiver? Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton runs a few routes with Hough High School and QB Jackson Gibbs at his 7-on-7 tournament in Fort Mill, S. C. 2016-07-17 02:49 2KB www.charlotteobserver.com 39 Gymnast Ashton Locklear on being an Olympic alternate Gymnast Ashton Locklear is an alternate for the USA women’s gymnastics team at Rio Olympics. 2016-07-17 02:49 1KB www.charlotteobserver.com 40 Ohio GOP Delegation Snubbed For Prime Host State Seating CLEVELAND, Ohio -- So much for host state favoritism. Ohio's state delegation will not be seated in the front row at the Republican convention at the Quicken Loans Center this coming week. Instead, 2016-07-17 02:47 2KB dailycaller.com 41 Turkey Warns America: Hand Over Exiled Cleric OR ELSE Turkey's president and its prime minister issued thinly-veiled threats to the U. S. on Saturday if it does not extradite an Islamic cleric living in the mountains of Pennsylvania. "Any country that 2016-07-17 02:47 7KB dailycaller.com

56 The real original "Ghost Busters" The remake of the 1984 blockbuster, "Ghostbusters," is expected to dominate the box office in its debut weekend. But it turns out the 1984 original wasn't so "original" after all. Back in 1975, a Saturday morning television series called ... 2016-07-17 02:46 1KB www.cbsnews.com 57 Saturday Sessions: Steve Gunn performs "Ancient Jules" Singer-songwriter Steve Gunn got off to an early start in high school punk bands, before establishing himself as a player in the Philly music scene. In 2001, the Lansdowne, Pennsylvania native moved to New York, eventually self-releasing his first solo album in 2007... 2016-07-17 02:46 1KB www.cbsnews.com 58 Why great white sharks are a mystery to scientists The great white may be the ocean's most feared fish, but scientists say there are more questions than answers when it comes to the sharks. National Geographic Magazine takes a deeper dive into the world of the great white in its July issue, as part of... 2016-07-17 02:46 1KB www.cbsnews.com 59 World Architecture Festival shortlist A house with a panoramic view of the ocean in Australia and a happiness centre in Bhutan are among the projects shortlisted for the World Architecture Festival awards 2016-07-17 02:45 2KB www.bbc.co.uk 60 Is the left's big new idea a 'right to be lazy'? Why are so many on the left now arguing that the state should pay everyone a universal basic income? 2016-07-17 02:45 5KB www.bbc.co.uk 61 Attack in Nice: Missing baby boy reunited with his family A family separated from their baby during the lorry attack in Nice are reunited with their son after an appeal on Facebook went viral 2016-07-17 02:45 2KB www.bbc.co.uk 62 Didcot power station: Search to resume after demolition Search efforts for three men killed in the Didcot power station collapse will resume when the remainder of the building is demolished. 2016-07-17 02:45 1KB www.bbc.co.uk

63 BBC News Channel Britain's most-watched news channel, delivering breaking news and analysis all day, every day. 2016-07-17 02:45 681Bytes www.bbc.co.uk 64 Crossword artwork filled in by German woman in museum A 91-year-old woman is under investigation in Germany after filling in blank spaces on a crossword-themed artwork in a museum. 2016-07-17 02:45 1KB www.bbc.co.uk 65 EgyptAir crash: On-board recording discusses fire The word "fire" was heard on the cockpit voice recorder of an EgyptAir flight that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea in May, investigators say. 2016-07-17 02:45 1KB www.bbc.co.uk 66 Venezuela re-opens Colombian border to allow shoppers to cross Venezuela opens its border with Colombia for the second time this month to allow people to cross over to shop for foods and medicines. 2016-07-17 02:45 1KB www.bbc.co.uk 67 Jacob Zuma painting: Are South Africans 'too free'? Is South Africa's constitution too liberal for its people, asks the BBC's Milton Nkosi. 2016-07-17 02:45 3KB www.bbc.co.uk 68 Stressed and stuck in Macedonia: Balkans' hidden migrant story Hundreds of migrants and refugees have been stuck on the Macedonian border with Serbia following the official closure of the Balkan route in March. 2016-07-17 02:45 5KB www.bbc.co.uk 69 Iran state media alarmed at English text on clothes State TV condemns tops saying "I'm queen" in English as "anti- religious". 2016-07-17 02:45 2KB www.bbc.co.uk 70 South Korea tackles baffling menu translations New government body aims to stamp out embarrassing foreign- language translations for Korean dishes. 2016-07-17 02:45 1KB www.bbc.co.uk 71 Syria conflict: Air strikes 'kill at least 28' in Aleppo Air strikes on the Syrian city of Aleppo kill at least 28 civilians, including children, according the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 2016-07-17 02:45 2KB www.bbc.co.uk

72 Zimbabwe's pastor 'hero': #ThisFlag preacher A Zimbabwean pastor with no known political credentials was accused of trying to overthrowing the government. So who is Pastor Evan Mawarire? 2016-07-17 02:45 5KB www.bbc.co.uk 73 New species of extinct rodent offers insight into ancient animal migration The research described a distant forerunner of the present-day gundi – a small rodent with a comb-like bristles on the two middle toes of its hind feet, also known as “comb rat.” 2016-07-17 01:57 6KB www.jpost.com 74 Report: PM will likely be questioned under caution in latest investigation The reports follow the 15 hours of questioning on Thursday of Ari Harow, Netanyahu’s former chief of staff, who was placed under a five-day house arrest. 2016-07-17 01:36 2KB www.jpost.com 75 Can Erdogan heal divisions in Turkey? Political leaders from around the world have condemned the attempt to oust the democratically elected government in Turkey. 2016-07-17 01:25 729Bytes www.bbc.co.uk 76 Coalition to advance bill targeting V15 group Attention has been focused on V15 after a bipartisan US Senate subcommittee criticized the State Department for giving a $350,000 grant to OneVoice, which became V15. 2016-07-17 01:02 2KB www.jpost.com 77 'Nothing like having a nice Jewish professor attack Israel' Visiting Touro College professor explains why anti-Israel sentiment gaining steam. 2016-07-17 00:50 5KB www.jpost.com 78 Posing topless, the smiling face of terror: Bastille Day attacker pictured sunning his torso in grinning holiday snap just months before his deadly massacre The Tunisian-born gym fanatic, 31, ploughed a 19-tonne lorry into crowds of men, women and children while they were celebrating France's most important national holiday in Nice on Thursday. 2016-07-17 00:39 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk

79 Nice promenade reopens after lorry massacre Tourists have returned to the promenade in Nice where scores of people were mown down in a lorry attack as it reopened amid the news France is to call up thousands of reserve forces to 2016-07-17 00:26 3KB www.independent.ie 80 Australia eager to start free trade talks with Britain Prime ministers of both countries engage in ‘very encouraging’ talk, but EU migrants’ right to remain in UK remains unclear 2016-07-17 00:20 5KB www.theguardian.com 81 'I feel so empty... it's like my heart has been torn out': Grieving father is left devastated after his son, four, was flung 30ft through the air to his death in Nice massacre Mickael Coviaux has spoken of his heartbreak over the death of his four-year-old son Yannis after he was mowed down by ISIS terrorist Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel in Nice. 2016-07-17 00:19 4KB www.dailymail.co.uk 82 Herbert cliffhanger: why Queensland marginals hold the key to Labor's fate in 2019 Labor gained large swings in many seats but these swings were mostly not in the seats that were most marginal 2016-07-17 00:11 3KB www.theguardian.com 83 Why Brexit may be a deadly experiment for science EU funding was a vital lifeline for our world-leading scientific research sector. That, and so much more, has now been blown away 2016-07-17 00:05 7KB www.theguardian.com 84 Labour has the stench of death – meet the killers The party whose raison d’etre was once to govern has now become unelectable, robbing Britain of a viable opposition 2016-07-17 00:05 7KB www.theguardian.com 85 Labour is miles away from government, says man out to replace Corbyn Owen Smith, a Nye Bevan admirer, is largely unknown beyond his heartland in Wales, but that has not stopped his bid for leadership of the party 2016-07-17 00:05 10KB www.theguardian.com

86 Labour needs a debate that will put our party’s house in order A progressive party of principle must reach out to everyone 2016-07-17 00:05 4KB www.theguardian.com 87 London is the world’s greatest city; we cannot sit back and do nothing about the rough sleeping crisis Close partnership and innovative approaches are needed to curb the rising numbers inherited when Labour took control of the capital 2016-07-17 00:04 2KB www.theguardian.com 88 Eyewitnesses describe chaos on streets of Nice Alexandra, 19, from the nearby town of Cagnes-sur-Mer, came to Nice with three other girlfriends to celebrate Bastille Day. 2016-07-17 00:04 4KB www.jpost.com 89 The Observer view on the Labour party As Theresa May lays out her vision, Labour needs to act like a real opposition 2016-07-17 00:03 9KB www.theguardian.com 90 A lovely change from men only, then she called on Boris It was hard not to offer a small cheer when Theresa May displaced the old male guard. My elation didn’t last long 2016-07-17 00:02 7KB www.theguardian.com 91 Police and academics search Nice attacker’s history for a motive A profile is built up of an angry loner recently arrived from Tunisia 2016-07-17 00:01 5KB www.theguardian.com 92 Qandeel Baloch, Pakistani fashion model, strangled to death in honour killing Pakistani fashion model Qandeel Baloch, who recently stirred controversy by posting pictures of herself with a Muslim cleric on social media, was strangled to death by her brother, police said Saturday. Her parents told police one of her six brothers strangled her to death as she... 2016-07-17 00:00 1KB article.wn.com 93 Chaos Plays Into Erdogan’s Hands After a Career Shaped by Coups The political career of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been shaped by military coups, real or imagined, for more than four decades. Friday’s attempt is likely to prove the most consequential, and potentially empowering, of them all. Whatever goals the rebels had,... 2016-07-17 00:00 887Bytes article.wn.com 94 US-based Turkish cleric denies involvement in coup An exiled Muslim cleric whom Turkey's president has accused of orchestrating a failed coup denied any responsibility Saturday, saying he had no knowledge of the plot. … Click to Continue » ... 2016-07-17 00:00 794Bytes article.wn.com 95 Paradise Lost: Attack dims sunny Nice's sparkle An eerie feeling hung over Nice's blood-stained Promenade des Anglais as shops and restaurants opened for business Saturday, with small vigils and flowers peppering the walkway outside. … Click to Continue » ... 2016-07-17 00:00 840Bytes article.wn.com 96 The Latest: CNN-Turk TV back on air, soldiers arrested A group within Turkey's military has engaged in what appeared to be an attempted coup, the prime minister said, with military jets flying over the c.... Turkish soldiers are seen on the Asian side of Istanbul, Friday, July 15, 2016. ... 2016-07-17 00:00 821Bytes article.wn.com 97 What influences many Europeans' attitude toward refugees Europeans fear the recent influx of refugees will contribute to local acts of violence and economic unrest, a new survey found, but those fears had little to do with recent terrorist attacks like the one in Brussels or the U. K.’s decision to leave the European... 2016-07-17 00:00 892Bytes article.wn.com 98 Pakistani social media star killed by brother after scandal Pakistani social media star killed by brother after scandal Associated Press - 16 July 2016 16:22-04:00 News Topics: General news, Social media, Homicide, Honor killings, Celebrity, Fashion magazines, Media, Online media, Violent crime, Crime, Violence... 2016-07-17 00:00 1KB article.wn.com 99 The Nice victims: Losses spanned 3 generations, 7 nations The terror attack on a festive Bastille Day crowd in France indiscriminately killed locals and foreigners alike, men, women and children. The driver of a truck slammed into the festivities Thursday taking the lives of 84 people, including six from the same family. Among those who've been identified...... 2016-07-17 00:00 960Bytes article.wn.com

100 US Would Consider Extradition for Exiled Cleric U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the United States would entertain an extradition request for exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey's 2016-07-17 00:00 648Bytes article.wn.com Articles

Total 100 articles, created at 2016-07-17 06:01

1 France terror: Who were the Nice attack victims? (5.24/6) PARIS, France — Victims of the Nice truck attack included three generations of a family out for a stroll, an 11-year-old boy from Texas and a French father protecting his pregnant wife. The Bastille Day assault killed 84 people of all ages and nationalities — including 10 children and teenagers — who had been out enjoying a fireworks display on a warm summer evening. More than 200 people were also injured when the Tunisian-born driver slammed his truck into the crowd on the seaside promenade. READ: France mourns 84 dead in Nice truck attack | ISIS claims Nice killer driver was its ‘soldier’ As investigators piece together a clearer picture of Thursday’s horror, details of some of the victims have also emerged. Here is where they came from and what we know so far: Tunisia Olfa Bent Souayah Khalfallah, 31, was with her four-year-old son on a family holiday from their home in Lyon, France, when they were hit by the lorry. “I have called everywhere, the hospitals, police stations and on Facebook,” his desperate father told AFP. “It is 48 hours now. My wife is dead and where is my son?”. Hours later he discovered his son too was dead. Bilal Labaoui, 25, from the central town of Kasserine, was with his brother Walid when the lorry careered towards them. Walid spent the night kneeling on the road by his brother’s body, according to the French daily Le Monde. Mechanic Mohamed Toukabri, who was in his fifties, came from Beja in the north of Tunisia, and worked in Nice. France Timothe Fournier, 27, from Paris died after pushing his seven-months- pregnant wife out of the truck’s deadly path, his cousin Anais told AFP. “He was a great guy… a young dreamer but someone who was always there for his family,” she said. Grandparents Francois, 82, and Christiane Locatelli, 78, their daughter Veronique Lion, 55, and grandson Michael Pellegrini died alongside Veronique’s parents-in-law, Gisele and Germain Lion. They were a “very well-regarded family, very involved in community life” said the mayor of their home town of Herserange in the east of the country. Mehdi H was the 12-year-old son of a Nice football referee who also lost his sister-in-law in the attack. His twin sister is in a coma. An unnamed young girl who was with the family on the promenade was also killed, the local referees’ association told AFP. Laurence Tavet, 49, who was married to an Algerian, was killed with two of her grandchildren. One of them, Yanis, aged seven, had come to visit her on his holidays, the Algerian ministry of foreign affairs said. Robert Marchand, 60, was an athletics trainer from Marcigny, a small town in centre of the country, whose club “he raised to a very high level”, mayor Louis Poncet told AFP Also killed was border police commissioner Emmanuel Grout, 45, who was off duty, local media said. David Bonnet, a 44-year-old fish farmer, was out with his new partner, who was slightly injured. Germany A teacher and two of her students from Berlin’s Paula-Fuerst School were killed, the Berlin mayor’s office said. United States Two US citizens were confirmed dead, the State Department said. A Texas-based newspaper identified them as Sean Copeland, 51, and his 11-year-old son Brodie who were on a family vacation in Europe. “They are so loved,” the family was quoted as saying in a statement. Brodie played baseball and his father was a coach, the Austin American- Statesman reported. The team posted a photo on Facebook showing Brodie relaxing in the surf on Nice’s pebble beach. Switzerland The Swiss foreign ministry announced the death of a Swiss woman named by local authorities in the town of Agno as 54-year-old customs agent Linda Casanova Siccardi, who was on holiday with her French husband. He survived. A Swiss child also died, the ministry said. Algeria Two children from Algeria died, the government said. Zahia Rahmouni, 70, also died. She was visiting her daughter and grandson in Nice when she was killed, said the foreign ministry’s spokesman. They only survived because the little boy ran away from his mother as the lorry approached. Poland Sisters Magdalena, 21, and Marzena Chrzanowska, 20, were on holiday with their two other sisters when they were killed, the priest in their hometown of Krzyszkowice in southern Poland told AFP. Morocco Fatima Charrihi, 60, a Nice resident and mother of seven, was among the first to be killed by the driver, her son Hamza told local media. He described her as “an extraordinary mum” and a devout Muslim who practiced “real Islam, not that of the terrorists”. Russia One Russian tourist was killed, the foreign ministry said. News site Novosti- 24 named her as 20-year-old university student Viktoria Savchenko who was holidaying in Nice with a friend. Her friend sustained injuries to her legs but was not in a serious condition, it added. Ukraine Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said a Ukrainian national was killed and another injured. Armenia An Armenian citizen was also among the dead, the country’s foreign ministry said. Madagascar Mother-of-two Mino Razafitrimo, 31, was with her two children aged four and six, who survived. She was a “joyous person very involved with the Malagasy community in Nice”, a friend told AFP.

84 killed in Bastille Day lorry attack in the south of France How al- Qaeda inspired the Nice terror attack newstatesman.com

8 shocking amendments made to the draft Republican Party manifesto How al-Qaeda inspired the Nice terror attack newstatesman.com Waitress 'used London terror experience' to clear hotel terrace independent.ie

Marianne weeps again theguardian.com

Attack on Nice: France calls on 'patriotic citizens' to join the reserves bbc.co.uk Who Were The Nice Attack Victims? article.wn.com

France calls up reserves to boost security after Nice attack article.wn.com 2016-07-17 06:00 Agence France newsinfo.inquirer.net

2 US election: Donald Trump unveils running mate Mike Pence (3.08/6) Donald Trump has introduced Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate, completing the Republican ticket for the presidential election. At a Manhattan hotel, the New York property developer said his vice- presidential pick was a "solid" man. He tried to dispel reports that he had been conflicted about his choice by insisting the 57-year-old governor was definitely his first choice. Mr Pence is well known for his strong socially- conservative credentials. The governor joined Mr Trump on stage and described him as "a good man" who "will make a great president". Mr Trump will be formally made the Republican presidential candidate at the party's national convention in Cleveland next week. Mr Trump praised his vice-presidential choice as man who had served "with distinction" in Congress equipped with "the skills of a highly talented executive". "I introduce a man who I truly believe will be outstanding in every way and who will be the next vice-president of the United States, Governor Mike Pence," he said. Introducing a vice-presidential candidate to the nation is usually a well- choreographed affair. But the first joint appearance between Donald Trump and his new running mate seemed almost an afterthought. Mr Trump spoke for more than 30 minutes - mainly about himself while taking sideswipes at Hilary Clinton - leaving Mike Pence quite literally waiting in the wings. When he did get round to talking about the man he hopes will boost his popularity among wavering Republicans, Mr Trump resorted to his notes, praising Mr Pence's track record as a congressman and governor of Indiana and describing him as a "solid, solid person". By contrast, Mr Pence gave a far more conventional speech, sticking to his script and delivering a measured message of support for Donald Trump. It was hard to gauge what, if any, personal relationship exists. The two shook hands briefly, greeted each other's families and left the stage. Mr Trump appeared relieved to have got the formalities out of the way while Mr Pence gave little sign of emotion. Joining Mr Trump on the podium, Mr Pence said: "I come to this moment deeply humbled but with a grateful heart, grateful to God for his amazing grace. " He said his new boss was someone who understood the frustrations of ordinary Americans in a way reminiscent of former President Ronald Reagan. Quoting the former president, who is still a hero to many Republicans, he said: "We're tired of being told that a little intellectual elite in a far distant capital can plan our lives better for us. " And abroad, Mr Trump would be a strong leader who would stand with America's allies and "destroy the enemies of our freedom", Mr Pence said. The two men have their differences on policy - Mr Pence is a supporter of trade deals opposed by Mr Trump, and the governor was critical of the proposed ban on Muslims coming to the US. Mr Trump was not his first choice as nominee either. Mr Pence backed Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Their joint appearance on Friday was rescheduled after the lorry attack in France, amid reports that Mr Trump only settled on Mr Pence after being talked out of other options by his family. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich were in the frame.

Donald Trump 'hesitated' over choosing Mike Pence, reports say dailymail.co.uk Trump’s move to unite the Republican Party Mike Pence unveiled as running mate bignewsnetwork.com

Donald Trump Introduces Pick Mike Pence As 'Solid' And A Unifier article.wn.com 2016-07-17 02:45 www.bbc.co.uk

3 Attempted Coup In Turkey Could Cause US Gas Prices To Spike (2.06/6) An attempted coup late Friday in Turkey could cause the price of gasoline and oil to drastically increase in America. Elements of Turkey’s army claimed to have seized power, flew warplanes over the Turkish capital of Ankara and had tanks blockade roads in Istanbul. The military cited increased autocratic rule by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and increased terrorism for its power seizure. The situation in Turkey is extremely fluid and unstable. Turkey is a vital transport hub for oil , and moves much of Russia and Iraq’s petroleum to the Mediterranean Sea for export. Millions of barrels of oil travel through the nation’s waterways and pipelines each day. Roughly 2.9 million barrels of oil passed through the Turkish Straits, including the Bosporus and Dardanelles in 2013, according to the U. S. Energy Information Administration. Turkey does not directly sell much oil to America , but petroleum is a globally traded commodity. Gas prices in America today are at their lowest point in decades , largely because the oil currently costs roughly $47 per barrel. As recently as 2011, comparatively minor political tensions in Libya caused the price of oil to pass $120 a barrel. While during much greater tensions from the rise of Islamic State as well as Saudi Arabia and three other Sunni nations cutting diplomatic ties with Iran, the price remains below $30 a barrel. Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim claims his government was still in control and will resist efforts by the military to take over. Erdogan used the app Facetime to go on television via his cell phone to ask his supporters to take to the streets to oppose the coup. Follow Andrew on Twitter Send tips to andrew@ dailycallernewsfoundation.org . 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]. Newspaper headlines: Turkey coup attempt aftermath bbc.co.uk

Canadian journalist living in Turkey stranded in Vancouver by attempted coup article.wn.com 2016-07-17 02:47 Energy Environmental dailycaller.com

4 If Turkey’s Military Coup Fails (2.06/6) At this hour, it appears that the military coup in Turkey has failed with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan back on Turkish soil. If Erdogan is restored to power then Turkish secularism is truly dead and so is the military that enforced it. When Islamists would try to stray from the secularism the Ataturk, the military would overthrow the government with a new secular, civilian authority back in place within a few months. The Turkish military was a bulwark against Islamism. But since Erdogan came to power in 2003, the military has been tremendously weakened and is now full of Islamists. Perhaps the coup leaders saw an opportunity with Turkey’s recent economic downturn and surge in terrorist activity. However, Erdogan has a friend in President Obama (and for that matter Hillary Clinton) who quickly expressed support for Erdogan’s “democratically elected government.” Mind you this “democratically elected government” routinely imprisons journalists and other dissidents who see fit to criticize it. It’s interesting how Erdogan utilized social media to rally his supporters, a medium he has frequently restricted, if not outright banned. If the military coup had succeeded it would have set the stage for the election of a democratic, secular government which is genuinely pro- American and anti-ISIS. With Erdogan back in power Turkey will be on the road to tyranny and the fight against ISIS will get that much more difficult.

Will failed coup delay Israel-Turkey normalization? jpost.com

FAA bans flights from Turkey to US after failed coup article.wn.com 2016-07-17 02:47 Aaron Goldstein spectator.org

5 Turkish Military Occupy Strategic Locations In Attempted Coup (2.06/6) TURKEY-POLITICS-MILITARY-COUP A man is shot during clashes between Turkish solders and police near Taksim square in Istanbul on July 16, 2016. Turkish military forces on July 16 opened fire on crowds gathered in Istanbul following a coup attempt, causing casualties, an AFP photographer said. The soldiers opened fire on grounds around the first bridge across the Bosphorus dividing Europe and Asia, said the photographer, who saw wounded people being taken to ambulances. / AFP / OZAN KOSE (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images) TURKEY-POLITICS- MILITARY-COUP People carry a man shot during clashes with Turkish military at the entrance to the Bosphorus bridge in Istanbul on July 16, 2016. Turkish military forces on July 16 opened fire on crowds gathered in Istanbul following a coup attempt, causing casualties, an AFP photographer said. The soldiers opened fire on grounds around the first bridge across the Bosphorus dividing Europe and Asia, said the photographer, who saw wounded people being taken to ambulances. (BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images) Military Occupy Strategic Locations In Turkey : ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 15: Turkish soldiers block Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge on July 15, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul's bridges across the Bosphorus, the strait separating the European and Asian sides of the city, have been closed to traffic. Reports have suggested that a group within Turkey's military have attempted to overthrow the government. Security forces have been called in as Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim denounced an "illegal action" by a military "group", with bridges closed in Istanbul and aircraft flying low over the capital of Ankara. (Photo by Gokhan Tan/Getty Images) Military Occupy Strategic Locations In Turkey ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 15: Police officers stand guard near the Turkish military headquarters on July 15, 2016 in Ankara, Turkey. Istanbul's bridges across the Bosphorus, the strait separating the European and Asian sides of the city, have been closed to traffic. Reports have suggested that a group within Turkey's military have attempted to overthrow the government. Security forces have been called in as Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim denounced an 'illegal action' by a military 'group', with bridges closed in Istanbul and aircraft flying low over the capital of Ankara (Photo by Kutluhan Cucel/Getty Images) TURKEY-POLITICS-MILITARY-COUP A man approaches Turkish military with his hands up at the entrance to the partially shut down Bosphorus bridge in Istanbul on July 16, 2016. Turkish military forces on July 16 opened fire on crowds gathered in Istanbul following a coup attempt, causing casualties, an AFP photographer said. The soldiers opened fire on grounds around the first bridge across the Bosphorus dividing Europe and Asia, said the photographer, who saw wounded people being taken to ambulances. / AFP / GURCAN OZTURK (Photo credit should read GURCAN OZTURK/AFP/Getty Images) TURKEY-POLITICS-MILITARY-COUP Turkish military control a road in Istanbul on July 16, 2016, after Turkish troops launched a coup. Turkish military forces on July 16 opened fire on crowds gathered in Istanbul following a coup attempt, causing casualties, an AFP photographer said. The soldiers opened fire on grounds around the first bridge across the Bosphorus dividing Europe and Asia, said the photographer, who saw wounded people being taken to ambulances. / AFP / GURCAN OZTURK (Photo credit should read GURCAN OZTURK/AFP/Getty Images) Military Occupy Strategic Locations In Turkey ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 16: People clash with the Turkish military at the entrance to the Bosphorus bridge on July 16, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul's bridges across the Bosphorus, the strait separating the European and Asian sides of the city, have been closed to traffic. Reports have suggested that a group within Turkey's military have attempted to overthrow the government. Security forces have been called in as Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim denounced an 'illegal action' by a military 'group', with bridges closed in Istanbul and aircraft flying low over the capital of Ankara (Photo by Gokhan Tan/Getty Images) Military Occupy Strategic Locations In Turkey ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 16: Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan march in the main streets of Istanbul, in the early morning hours of July 16, 2016 Turkey. Istanbul's bridges across the Bosphorus, the strait separating the European and Asian sides of the city, have been closed to traffic. Reports have suggested that a group within Turkey's military have attempted to overthrow the government. Security forces have been called in as Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim denounced an 'illegal action' by a military 'group', with bridges closed in Istanbul and aircraft flying low over the capital of Ankara (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images) Military Occupy Strategic Locations In Turkey : ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 15: Turkish soldiers block Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge on July 15, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul's bridges across the Bosphorus, the strait separating the European and Asian sides of the city, have been closed to traffic. Reports have suggested that a group within Turkey's military have attempted to overthrow the government. Security forces have been called in as Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim denounced an "illegal action" by a military "group", with bridges closed in Istanbul and aircraft flying low over the capital of Ankara. (Photo by Gokhan Tan/Getty Images) Military Occupy Strategic Locations In Turkey ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 15: Turkish soldiers block Istanbul's Bosphorus Brigde on July 15, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul's bridges across the Bosphorus, the strait separating the European and Asian sides of the city, have been closed to traffic. Reports have suggested that a group within Turkey's military have attempted to overthrow the government. Security forces have been called in as Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim denounced an 'illegal action' by a military 'group', with bridges closed in Istanbul and aircraft flying low over the capital of Ankara (Photo by Gokhan Tan/Getty Images) Military Occupy Strategic Locations In Turkey ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 16: Turkish Armys APC's move in the main streets in the early morning hours of July 16, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul's bridges across the Bosphorus, the strait separating the European and Asian sides of the city, have been closed to traffic. Reports have suggested that a group within Turkey's military have attempted to overthrow the government. Security forces have been called in as Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim denounced an 'illegal action' by a military 'group', with bridges closed in Istanbul and aircraft flying low over the capital of Ankara (Photo by Defne Karadeniz/Getty Images) Military Occupy Strategic Locations In Turkey ANKARA, TURKEY - JULY 15: Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan chant slogans on the main streets on July 15, 2016 in Ankara, Turkey. Istanbul's bridges across the Bosphorus, the strait separating the European and Asian sides of the city, have been closed to traffic. Reports have suggested that a group within Turkey's military have attempted to overthrow the government. Security forces have been called in as Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim denounced an 'illegal action' by a military 'group', with bridges closed in Istanbul and aircraft flying low over the capital of Ankara (Photo by Kutluhan Cucel/Getty Images) Elements Of Turkish Military Stage A Coup ANTALYA, TURKEY - JULY 16: People take to the street in support of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan July 16, 2016 in Antalya, Turkey. Reports have suggested that a group within Turkey's military have attempted to overthrow the government. Security forces have been called in as Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim denounced an 'illegal action' by a military 'group', with bridges closed in Istanbul and aircraft flying low over the capital of Ankara (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images) TURKEY-POLITICS-MILITARY-COUP A Turkish solder is detained by police at Taksim square as people protest agaist the military coup in Istanbul on July 16, 2016. Turkish military forces on July 16 opened fire on crowds gathered in Istanbul following a coup attempt, causing casualties, an AFP photographer said. The soldiers opened fire on grounds around the first bridge across the Bosphorus dividing Europe and Asia, said the photographer, who saw wounded people being taken to ambulances. / AFP / OZAN KOSE (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images) TURKEY-POLITICS-MILITARY-COUP Turkish solders stay with weapons at Taksim square as people protest against the military coup in Istanbul on July 16, 2016. Turkish military forces on July 16 opened fire on crowds gathered in Istanbul following a coup attempt, causing casualties, an AFP photographer said. The soldiers opened fire on grounds around the first bridge across the Bosphorus dividing Europe and Asia, said the photographer, who saw wounded people being taken to ambulances. ( OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkish crowds rally to democracy calls after coup attempt bbc.co.uk

US-Turkish tensions rise after failed coup attempt article.wn.com 2016-07-17 02:46 cbsloc.al

6 6 Notorious Cleveland crimes (1.02/6) Cleveland is renowned for its sports fandom , world-class hospitals , and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But the Ohio city has also been in the headlines for some unwanted reasons, as the site of number of notorious crimes that made national headlines. Read on for stories of some of Cleveland's darkest moments... Serial killer Michael Madison was convicted in May 2016 for the murders of three East Cleveland women -- Shirellda Terry, 18, Shetisha Sheeley, 28, and Angela Deskins, 38 -- between October 2012 and July 2013. In June 2016, he was sentenced to death. The women's bodies were discovered in July 2013 near Madison's East Cleveland apartment. One was discovered in a garage, one in bushes outside and a third in the basement of a nearby vacant home, reports Cleveland.com. All were wrapped in trash bags. Terry and Deskins were strangled, a medical examiner found, and Sheeley died of "homicidal violence by unspecified means. " According to Cleveland.com, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty described Madison as a trophy keeper who was inspired by another East Cleveland serial killer: Anthony Sowell. A woman who described herself as the ex-girlfriend of Michael Madison told CBS affiliate WOIO in 2013 that Madison had a fixation on Sowell. The woman, who asked to remain unidentified, told the station that Madison would frequently watch YouTube videos about the Sowell case and cry. She says he expressed sympathy for Sowell and disdain for his female victims. In 2009, Cleveland Police discovered 11 dead women in Anthony Sowell's East Cleveland home. The now-notorious serial killer was convicted in the murders in July 2011. The next month, he was sentenced to death. Sowell was a registered sex offender when police went to his home on search and arrest warrants after a woman said he had raped her there. That's when they discovered two bodies upstairs and what appeared to be a freshly dug grave in the basement. Sowell was arrested two days later, on Halloween. Eventually, police uncovered all 11 bodies. Officials believe all the women were strangled, but decomposition made it difficult to determine cause of death for some of them. Officials said they could have been there for weeks, months or years. The women began disappearing in 2007, and Cleveland's police force drew fire when their families accused them of failing to properly investigate because most were addicted to drugs and lived in an impoverished neighborhood. Some claimed police ignored their missing person reports. In 2011, the city of Cleveland demolished Sowell's home. On May 6, 2013, a Cleveland 911 dispatcher received a frantic 911 call from Amanda Berry, who had been missing since the day before her 17th birthday in 2003. "Help me, I'm Amanda Berry," the caller said. "... I've been kidnapped. And I've been missing for 10 years. And I'm here. I'm free now. " The call revealed a harrowing ordeal for three young women -- Berry, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus -- who disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004 and were held captive for about a decade in the Cleveland home of Ariel Castro. They were rescued after Berry managed to escape and run to a neighbor's home. Police say Castro beat and sexually abused the women for years, fathering a child with Berry. The child was 6 years old at the time of her rescue. In a plea deal that spared him the death penalty, Castro pleaded guilty to 937 counts, including aggravated murder, kidnapping, rape and assault in July 2013. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 1,000 years. "You took 11 years of my life away, and now I have got it back," Michelle Knight said in an emotional statement at his Aug. 1, 2013 sentencing hearing. "I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning. " Just over a month later, Castro was found hanging by a bedsheet in his cell. Authorities determined that he had committed suicide. The three women held captive in a Cleveland home for a decade broke their public silence in a video posted on YouTube on July 8, 2013. They said the support and prayers of family, friends and the public was helping them rebuild their lives after what Berry called "this entire ordeal. " In 2015, Berry and DeJesus published a memoir about their experiences. "We are free, we love life," the women wrote in the note to readers at the beginning of "Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland. " Knight, who legally changed her name to Lily Rose Lee, wrote a separate book about her experience entitled "Finding Me: A Decade of Darkness, a Life Reclaimed. " Notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer admitted to raping, murdering and dismembering 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Dahmer cannibalized and in some cases lobotomized his victims in the gruesome killings, and he kept body parts of his victims at the Milwaukee apartment where he was eventually arrested in July of 1991. While he committed most of the murders in Milwaukee, he killed his first victim at his childhood home in Bath Township, about 20 miles south of Cleveland. Dahmer, then just 18, killed a hitchhiker and disposed of his remains in the woods behind the property. He had recently graduated from nearby Revere High School. "I didn't ever want freedom,"Dahmer said at his February 1992 sentencing hearing. "Frankly I wanted death for myself. This was a case to tell the world that I did what I did not for reasons of hate. I hated no one. I knew I was sick or evil, or both. Now I believe I was sick. " Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences in prison. He was beaten to death in prison by a fellow inmate in November of 1994. A string of gruesome murders has been linked to the "Cleveland Torso Murderer" in Depression-era Cleveland. Investigators believe the still- unidentified killer murdered 13 people between 1934 and 1938, according to the Cleveland Police Museum. Many of the victims were decapitated while still alive, and in many cases limbs were also dismembered. Some remain unidentified. Many were found near the Kingsbury Run riverbed, which runs through a neighborhood that at the time was impoverished and largely transient, according to the Police Museum. Some have referred to the slayings as the "Kingsbury Run Murders. " In 1939, brick layer Frank Dolezal was arrsted in the murder of one of the victims, Flo Polillo, according to the police museum. Dolezal confessed, though the confession was later called into question and Dolezal was found dead of a suicide in his jail cell soon after. The case was investigated for years by famed Cleveland Public Safety Director Eliot Ness, though he never solved it. Cleveland gets ready for Republican National Convention article.wn.com 2016-07-17 02:46 Crimesider Staff www.cbsnews.com

7 Boris Johnson Promises U. K. Will Safeguard Gibraltar Post-Brexit (1.00/6) Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson reaffirmed Britain 's commitment to Gibraltar on Saturday and said it would fully involve the territory in its discussions with the European Union following last month's vote to leave the bloc. UK opens 'very fruitful' trade talks with Canada, says minister article.wn.com 2016-07-17 00:00 system article.wn.com

8 British Open showdown: Stenson leads Mickelson by a shot (1.00/6) British Open showdown: Stenson leads Mickelson by a shot Associated Press - 16 July 2016 16:56-04:00 News Topics: General news, Sports, British Open Golf, Men's golf, Men's sports, Golf, Events People, Places and Companies: Henrik Stenson, Phil Mickelson, William Haas, Bill Haas, Andrew Johnston, Davis Love III, Justin Leonard, Nick Faldo, Lee Trevino Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Commander: US support of Afghans could be game-changer article.wn.com 2016-07-17 00:00 system article.wn.com

9 Sudan's al-Bashir, attending Rwanda summit, defies the ICC (1.00/6) Sudan's al-Bashir, attending Rwanda summit, defies the ICC Associated Press - 16 July 2016 14:52-04:00 News Topics: General news, Summits, Human rights and civil liberties, Government and politics, Courts, International relations, Social issues, Social affairs, Judiciary People, Places and Companies: Omar al- Bashir, Yoweri Museveni, Salva Kiir Mayardit, Riek Machar, Ban Ki-Moon, Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, Kigali, East Africa, West Africa Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Commander: US support of Afghans could be game-changer article.wn.com 2016-07-17 00:00 system article.wn.com

10 What the bookies know about horse-racing - and politics When idealists go to battle: why the Spanish Civil War still matters (0.17/6) The bookmakers have been much in the news recently, not least because a lot of my fellow members of the Remain camp relied too much on what they thought the bookies were telling them when the opinion polls were far from reassuring. The key point so many commentators missed was that, although far the greater weight of money went on Remain, far more individual bets were being placed on Brexit. Until Andrea Leadsom’s sudden withdrawal, the same pattern seemed to be emerging in the Conservative leadership race. But we have now been spared. How did I know this – and start considering Irish citizenship several months ago? Well, I have loved horse racing from a very early age and am in close touch with the bookies. Throughout the referendum campaign I received regular bulletins from William Hill about what lay beneath the odds that, superficially, suggested Remain was a racing certainty. At one stage, if one had placed £100 on Remain one might have won only £15 (the odds varied a lot). After a searing experience at Ascot one year, I decided never to back an odds-on favourite again. In which context I should like to make a confession. Many decades ago, in this very periodical, I wrote an article arguing that the bookies should be nationalised. Subsequent reflection has convinced me that this was a mistake. Their presence adds greatly to the enjoyment of a trip to the racecourse. Indeed, as I witnessed yet again at Newmarket’s July meeting, there is something special about the social mix, and general air of contentment – win or lose – that one experiences at the races. After the fall In common with most readers, I imagine, I have found it difficult to get away from the horrors of the referendum result, tending to alternate between depression and black humour. As a young journalist I followed closely the abortive efforts of Harold Macmillan and then Harold Wilson to overcome President de Gaulle’s intransigent “ Non ”, and Edward Heath’s final triumph in the early 1970s thanks partly to his good relationship with President Pompidou. It beggars belief that, after decades of trying to enter what is now the European Union, we are likely to throw it all away. Or are we? Almost certainly Mrs Leadsom, the last Brexiteer left standing after the shoot-out at Gove-Johnson Corral, would have done so. There is more hope with Mrs May, although it was a terrible thing for her to frighten all those immigrants who are so vital to our economy by raising the possibility of using them as “bargaining chips” in negotiations with the EU. Like most users of the National Health Service, I am well aware of how dependent our hospitals are on immigrants. When I slipped in the mud on Hampstead Heath last November, injuring a tendon to the point where I could not move, I was helped by an eastern European dog walker, who called an ambulance and remained by my side until I was rescued. One of my daughters-in-law, a GP, has since told me not to walk so fast: the faster one walks, the more likely one is to trip, especially on all those uneven pavements. Talking of which, I notice that, when people are young, they “fall over” but, after a certain age, they “have a fall”. Marx out of ten The lies told about extra spending on the NHS by the Brexiteers were truly shocking. Also distressing is the way that many disillusioned northerners allowed themselves to be convinced that so much of the social damage wreaked by George Osborne’s austerity programme was the fault of the EU or immigrants. My father, a strong trade unionist, used to lament the amount of time he had to spend persuading “working people” where their true interests lay. The Brexit result brings back to mind a spoof leader column written by some members of the Financial Times when I worked there. It went something like this: “While in many ways the FT was against the Marxist-Leninist revolution that has just taken place in this country, now that it has occurred, the important thing is to ensure that it works properly.” Famous friends One trap newspaper diarists can fall into is that of name-dropping. The most celebrated example was the late Norman St John Stevas, who – so the tale goes – was accused of name-dropping and replied: “That’s funny. The Queen Mother was accusing me of that only the other day.” A story that may be new to readers concerns Conor Cruise O’Brien, when he was editor-in-chief of the Observer , and William Clark, who resigned as Anthony Eden’s press secretary over Suez, and subsequently had a high- powered public relations role at the World Bank. Clark came to lunch and could hardly stop talking about what Robert McNamara (his boss), Henry Kissinger and Pierre Trudeau had recently told him. Suddenly he became aware that his host was not paying attention, and was staring fixedly under the table. “What’s wrong?” he asked Conor. “Ah,” came the reply in that wonderful Irish brogue. “I am worried about the strength of the floor for the weight of the names that are being dropped upon it.” Total recall Ministerial memoirs are published frequently, but the candid recollections of distinguished civil servants are a rarity. One forthcoming volume to cherish is that by Sir Brian Unwin, who was at the centre of things when Mrs Thatcher “got our money back” – the famous British rebate from the Brussels budget negotiated in 1984 at Fontainebleau – as well as during the Westland scandal in 1986 and the infamous “arms to Iraq” affair, which led to the Scott inquiry. Sir Brian is a passionate “European” and his own man, and I doubt whether he will allow Whitehall to bowdlerise his revelations of what really went on. William Keegan is a former economics editor of the Observer The Spanish Civil War holds a perennial fascination for a non-Spanish audience. Even if we cannot quite claim to have “Spain in our hearts”, histories of the conflict have kept alive the liberal conviction that the republican cause was just, while Franco’s emerging dictatorship was not. At least one veteran interviewed by Adam Hochschild in his absorbing study of the Americans who went to fight in Spain reflects simply: “I wish we’d won.” It is difficult after reading these three volumes not to echo that wistful response. In recent years there has been some attempt to rescue historically the nationalist cause, with its conservative defence of nation, church and family, and at the same time to highlight the atrocities perpetrated by the republican side. Indeed, the Western powers used the reputation of the left in Spain to explain their unwillingness to help the legitimate government formed by an alliance of republicans. Even-handedness, however, has its limits. Spain’s Second Republic represented the aspirations of millions of impoverished Spaniards to overturn long decades of extreme economic and social exploitation and to destroy the inherited power of the Catholic Church and the old landowners. The bitterness of the conflict came about not because the left was uniquely violent and unruly, but because the nationalists used terror and atrocity as their means to eradicate any vestige of the surviving democratic spirit in Spain. One American journalist, Hochschild writes, witnessed a nationalist officer pushing two young girls captured from the republican militia into a room of forty Moorish soldiers. When he protested, the officer merely shrugged and told him that the girls would be raped to death in a few hours. No amount of special pleading is ever going to turn Franco’s campaign into a decent defence of conservative values. For millions of Europeans and Americans this was evident from the start of the war in 1936. The young idealists who ventured out to Spain to volunteer on the side of the Republic, despite objections by their mealy-mouthed governments, went there as the vanguard of popular opposition to fascism and all it seemed to represent. Their ideals varied, and their motives, too, but they shared an embedded hostility to extreme nationalism, ruling-class power, capitalist self-interest and social intolerance. These were ideals powerfully held and powerfully expressed, captured in the wealth of contemporary literature – novels, poetry, short stories – that the conflict generated, and sustained in most of the literature on the war produced ever since. Writers were generally on the side of the angels. When various British authors were invited in 1937 by the heiress Nancy Cunard to say where they stood on the war, only two showed any sympathy for Franco. This bias is evident in the useful collection of writings on the civil war selected and edited by Pete Ayrton, who has also included many Spanish and Catalan authors in his anthology. Most of the pieces are fiction, although many are rooted in real experience. It is not easy to explain why images of the civil war are so evocative. In some cases very fine writers were involved directly, and not just Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell, but a host of others, too, Spanish and non- Spanish. Partly it is because Spain is near and far, a part of Europe yet a part cut off from the mainstream, with a culture and history that in the 1930s made it seem an exotic destination. Partly it is because of the geography, human and physical. The high sierras, the wide and arid plains, the miles of forested hillside, the architectural mix of the Arab and the Gothic, the great diversity of peoples and milieus, all helped to make Spain a writer’s dream, so different from life in Britain, France or even the United States. Spain generated in writers the same romantic attachment to place and people that can be found in literature on Russia: both at the extreme edge of Europe, both with an ancient history, both experiencing European modernisation in their own, distinct way. Why, then, did the Republic fail? There is plenty of contemporary judgement that idealism alone is not enough to confront a determined and savage enemy. This may be true in its way (though there was idealism of a different sort on the nationalist side, too) but the answer is evidently more complicated. All three of the books reviewed here, marking the 80th anniversary of the start of the conflict, make the point that the fault lines in the republican constituency were critical. The Spanish centre and left were divided between moderate socialists and democrats – for whom civil war was an uncongenial consequence of the political crisis – and communists, Trotskyists organised in the POUM, and Spanish anarchists, particularly strong in Catalonia. Despite Popular Front rhetoric, these various groups were scarcely reconcilable. Communist officials, under direct instructions from Moscow, murdered their anarchist and Trotskyist allies; anarchists murdered Trotskyists; democratic socialists were distrusted by all the more radical groups. When Orwell entered Spain he decided on a whim to join the POUM, and a few months later only just managed to escape across the frontier to avoid arrest and possible execution by the enemies of his chosen militia. Surprisingly, these conflicts did not stop the republican side from fighting the nationalists, though they certainly inhibited the centralisation of the war effort and a spirit of effective collaboration between the various elements. Given the growing disparity in arms and organisation between the two sides, it is remarkable that the Republic lasted as long as it did. Nevertheless, by the autumn of 1938 it was clear that the Republic had lost. Franco’s forces made heavy weather of the campaign, partly to ensure that the captured areas were savagely “pacified”, treating the Spanish people as if they were colonial rebels. An estimated 150,000 people died at the hands of the nationalists over the course of the civil war, some of them murdered in grotesque displays, some killed to satisfy a sadistic urge for vendetta. The question facing the embattled republican government, with no allies internationally (except for the dubious value of support from Moscow), was how to end the conflict in a way that would not bring on a final bloodbath of revenge. It is this awkward ending that supplies the subject matter of Paul Preston’s latest book on the war. He reconstructs in meticulous detail the death agonies of the regime, played out between three anti-heroes: Juan Negrín, the Republic’s last prime minister; Segismundo Casado, an ambitious colonel who chose to overthrow him at the last moment; and Julián Besteiro, an ageing political ally of Casado’s who hoped to broker terms with Franco. This unhappy trio shared the belief that it might be possible to find a way to end the war by agreement with the nationalists, perhaps even establish an honourable peace. Franco, not unnaturally, wanted unconditional surrender because he was in a position to insist on it. Preston is harsh on the latter two of his trio for undermining the possibility of Negrín brokering a settlement, and blames Besteiro, who in this account proves a brave and principled man in the face of defeat and arrest, for deluding himself that terms could be agreed that might protect the population. In this bleak time, he seems more honourable than that. Preston’s sympathies lie with those who argued that continued resistance was the only realistic option and who recognised that with Franco no compromise was possible. Yet surely this begs the question as to whether the Republic had any further power to resist. Continued resistance would have led to more deaths in the field and an even more remorseless repression once Franco had won. The indecisions and confusions of the final weeks of the war certainly made flight and possible safety difficult for the remnants of the republican army, but it is a daunting task to explain why Franco would ever have agreed to let his enemies go. This argument also sidesteps the problem that getting access to sanctuary in France, or anywhere else, was dangerous. A brave Welsh sea captain, Archibald Dickson, took one of the last boatloads of refugees through the nationalist blockade and out of Alicante, crammed so full that the vessel threatened to sink, but it had to remain afloat outside the French empire port of Oran in Algeria for a month, short of food and water, because the authorities would not allow the men among the people on board to disembark. Meanwhile, the hundreds of thousands who made it across the border to France were put in concentration camps, in appalling conditions, and used as virtual forced labour to help build French defences against the German threat. It was an insulting end to the ordeal that Spanish republicans had undergone fighting against Franco and his German ally, with no help forthcoming from the French government. For the foreign fighters, there were also paradoxes to confront. The American volunteers in Hochschild’s account were among those International Brigades sent home from Spain in November 1938 with the words of the republican heroine Dolores Ibárruri ringing in their ears: “You can go proudly. You are history. You are legend.” When the volunteers for the Brigades returned to the US they had their passports confiscated and found themselves the victims of official scrutiny for defending the “communist” republic. One volunteer was so anxious that he burned his own account of the war in case the FBI found it. That the ideals they had fought for in Spain were ideals also enshrined in their own political tradition made little difference. The few black members of the American Brigade were subjected to routine discrimination once they were back in democratic America. The messy aftermath of the conflict raises questions that have a powerful resonance for us. The present refugee crisis strongly echoes the crises that faced Spaniards as they struggled to find anywhere that would take them in. Syrian and Iraqi refugees today are also victims of a cruel civil war in which the West pays lip-service to humanitarian ideals but is cagey about the human consequences. On the other side are “international brigades” of Muslim fighters travelling to support Isis. The analogy is nevertheless a strained one. The Spanish war was recognisably a European ideological conflict and the refugees then were fleeing from a force that threatened to engulf the continent. If there is a contemporary resonance, it lies in the current European crisis, exemplified by the Brexit referendum, which has revived nationalism, social and racial intolerance, and the politics of exclusion. Across the continent there are profound divisions between those who espouse inclusion and internationalism and those who reject them. This is not the 1930s, but the net effect may be to push Europe back to an age of national self-interest and political polarisation from which the European Union was intended to rescue it. The fascination of the Spanish Civil War for a modern audience is precisely that the forces of progressive idealism lost, and today’s idealists, like Hochschild’s veteran, wish they had not. How to stop it happening again is a challenge to all who share something of that idealism. Richard Overy is a professor of history at the University of Exeter. His books include “The Morbid Age: Britain Between the Wars” (Penguin) ¡No Pasarán! Writings from the Spanish Civil War, edited by Pete Ayrton, is published by Serpent’s Tail (448pp, £20) Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) by Adam Hochschild is published by Macmillan (442pp, £25) The Last Days of the Spanish Republic by Paul Preston is published by William Collins (390pp, £25) Brexit, Iraq, leadership coups: why do Britain's politicians insist on leaping into the dark? When idealists go to battle: why the Spanish Civil War still matters newstatesman.com

After the news this week, I hoped my AirBnB wouldn't have wifi When idealists go to battle: why the Spanish Civil War still matters newstatesman.com One month on, we've already forgotten the lessons of Jo Cox When idealists go to battle: why the Spanish Civil War still matters newstatesman.com

Is Labour ready to elect a woman as leader? The evidence suggests not When idealists go to battle: why the Spanish Civil War still matters newstatesman.com Andy Murray has stupendous steel and discipline - and yet... When idealists go to battle: why the Spanish Civil War still matters newstatesman.com

If Theresa May can turn rhetoric into reality, she could put Labour out of business When idealists go to battle: why the Spanish Civil War still matters newstatesman.com The Department of Energy and Climate Change has been scrapped – how scared should we be? When idealists go to battle: why the Spanish Civil War still matters newstatesman.com

Identity papers: gender and Jewishness in Susan Faludi's memoir of her father When idealists go to battle: why the Spanish Civil War still matters newstatesman.com 2016-07-17 02:45 Owen Jones www.newstatesman.com

11 Will there ever be another girl band like the Spice Girls? Anohni explores a complex relationship between the self, politics and pop (0.03/6) It has been 20 years since the release of the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe”, their debut number one single in both the UK and US charts and one of the bestselling singles of all time. Its catchy chorus, ingrained in the mind of every child of the Nineties, “I’ll tell you what I want, what I really really want”, and its promotion of all female friendships (“you gotta get with my friends” and “friendship never ends”) triggered a social phenomenon that had never been seen before in British pop music. “ Girl power ” – audacity, self-assertiveness and autonomy – is what the Spice Girls stood for. Their lyrics are expressions of female empowerment. In “2 become 1”, a song essentially promoting safe sex, the girls sing “I’m back for more” and “I wanna make love to you” – open declarations of their sexual desires. The chorus of their energetic “Spice Up Your Life” – “Shake it to the right/ If ya know that you feel fine” – intertwines sexual freedom with self-confidence. The Spice Girls were one of the first pop bands to recognise the importance of friendship between women. While relationships with men are relatively transient (in “Say You’ll Be There”, they sing “I’ll have to show you the door”, and in “Wannabe”, they warn “if you really bug me then I’ll say goodbye”), female friendship “never ends”. Contrast this with the pop music of the 1960s. The incredible vocal power of the Sixties girl groups make it possible to overlook their songs as expressions of female empowerment. Yet these girls sing of little other than relationships with men, heartbreak, and a dependence on romance. The Supremes' “Baby Love” laments “All you do is treat me bad/ Break my heart and leave me sad” and their “Where Did Our Love Go” pleads with a lover: “Please don’t leave me all by myself”. In The Ronettes' “Baby I Love You”, the women sing “ I can’t live without you ”. The Spice Girls' and The Supremes' music embodies change in the social landscape over a three-decade period. As the sexual climate transformed between the 1960s and the 1990s, this shift is mirrored in the movement from The Ronettes' “I can’t live without you” to the Spice Girls' “I’ll have to show you the door”. But where have all the girl groups gone? Female empowerment overwhelms pop music today, and yet is seen mostly in the solo singers of our age. Beyoncé is the obvious example here. Her “Irreplaceable”, “Run the World” and “Single Ladies” are quintessential illustrations of her strong and independent female identity. Her backdrop of "FEMINIST" at the VMAs in 2014 , and her politicised visual album Lemonade released this year serve to reinforce the image of Beyon cé as the queen of modern-day "girl power". But Beyon cé started off in a group. In Destiny’s Child, their music was as much a promotion of female independence as her own is now. Just look at the lyrics of their songs “Independent Women” and “Survivor”. And yet the band broke up and Beyon cé went solo. Destiny’s Child made the break in 2006 and the Spice Girls split up after Geri Halliwell walked out on the band in 1998. So are female singers now more empowered when they take on the industry individually? Given that we’re surrounded by female solo artists ( Beyon cé , Taylor Swift, Niki Minaj, Adele, Rihanna and Katy Perry to name a few) and there are far fewer girl bands taking the limelight in 2016, it seems so. In terms of popular British girl bands, Little Mix are about the only ones who come to mind, and All Saints dropped a new single back in February this year. Other than that, it seems there are not many girl bands that promote "girl power" around anymore. Maybe there will only ever be space for the Spice Girls. A video released last Friday featuring the faces of Mel B, Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell included a special announcement, and rumours are spiralling of a reunion to take place next year. The Global Goals, a movement set up by the United Nations, launched a remix of the Spice Girls “Wannabe” as part of their sustainable development project. The video includes signs that read “end violence against girls”, “quality education for all girls”, “end child marriage” and “equal pay for equal work”. So there may be no one new taking their place on the girl band scene of British pop music, but that doesn’t matter. 20 years later, and we’re still learning from the Spice Girls. Pop is having a political moment. From the specific thoughts on the state of racism in America from Kendrick Lamar, to vaguer “girl power” vibes of Meghan Trainor and Little Mix, social movements have infiltrated the mainstream music scene. Where does that leave the artists on the margins? For Anohni, the Mercury Prize-winning artist formerly of Antony and the Johnsons, it means pushing the boundaries even further on how we understand those issues, attempting to use music to see the connections between a variety of global concerns. “[It’s] been refreshing, to see that resurgence,” she told Dazed . “ I just wanted to push that thinking into other arenas too. I also wanted to illustrate the connectivity between all these different things, how all these different issues exacerbate and amplify one another and climax in ecocide.” Anohni’s latest project, the album Hopelessness , is the most explicitly political work she has produced over her career. While songs created under Antony and the Johnsons contained raw observations on domestic abuse, queer culture, and the environmental crisis, Hopelessness has a new directness that is sometimes jarringly literal. In “Obama”, Anohni addresses the US President in anger and betrayal (“you are spying / Executing without trial / Betraying virtues”). In “Drone Bomb Me”, she imagines herself as a child orphaned by war, wishing to die and join her family in the afterlife: “Drone bomb me / Blow me from the mountains / And into the sea”. In songs like these, she takes us one step further than PJ Harvey’s The Hope Six Demolition Project or Joni Mitchell’s “If I Had a Heart”. Strangely, this music is also irresistably catchy. These lyrics have a bluntness that can almost feel too on-the-nose. The climate change-denying narrator of “4 Degrees” speaks with a desperate hunger for destruction: “I wanna burn the sky / I wanna burn the breeze / I wanna see the animals die in the trees”. Is this caricature of a global warming sceptic overly earnest, or cynically misrepresentative? Perhaps, until you realise that here, as in many places in Hopelessness , Anohni is actually talking about herself. In a note on Facebook, she wrote that in the song she was, “giving myself a good hard look, not my aspirations but my behaviors, revealing my insidious complicity”. This approach has its own ethical thorniness. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly , Anohni noted that, despite the wide-reaching political scope of the album, her jumping-off point throughout Hopelessness was her own self: “ For me, it was about keeping the focus on myself and describing feelings from my own point of view. There are some cases where I veer away from that on the album, but in most cases I try to keep the focus on the first person. That tends to be how we relate to the world. I tried to find the emotional narrative and spiritual narrative through the idea: What’s my relationship to this stuff? How am I complicit in some of these things? ” The album therefore functions primarily through a kind of radical empathy: “I'm only alive one time, and I wanted to try to live expansively.” While songs like “I Don't Love You Anymore”, “Violent Men”, “Why Did You Separate Me from the Earth?” and the titular “Hopelessness” explore structural violence against women and the alienation of the human race from the natural world, songs like “Drone Bomb Me”, “Execution” and “Indian Girls” (which does not appear on the album, but is part of Anohni’s current setlist for live shows) draw on experiences that are outside her own – the latter in particularly graphic language (“You burned Indians at stake / Drove the stick from anus to mouth / And raped girls in bleeding lines / Of heaving spines, of sobbing spines”). This is when Anohni’s music begins to make me feel uncomfortable – are these stories hers to tell? Is there a point where identification can slip into appropriation? I am reminded again of Mitchell – this time of the notorious interview she gave last year, in which she said, “When I see black men […] I really feel an affinity because I have experienced being a black guy on several occasions.” But Anohni also has a self-awareness that suggests this audience discomfort is intentional. She challenges us to consider how we intentionally distance ourselves from violence for which we are culpable, in order to absolve ourselves of guilt: to genuinely answer “Crisis”’s repeated question, “If I killed your mother / With a drone bomb / How would you feel?” The most thrilling and troubling moments on Hopelessness come when Anohni condemns her own involvement in the violent structures she condemns. “How did I become a virus?” she sings on “Hopelessness”. As much as she puts herself into this record, Anohni is also acutely aware of how the absence of the self can be more powerful. She made headlines this year as the second openly transgender person nominated for an Academy Award, for her song “Manta Ray”, written for the documentary Racing Extinction. When the Academy Award organisers failed to invite her to perform – despite requesting performances from all the other nominees for Best Original Song – Anohni boycotted the ceremony, writing a powerful explanation of her decision on Pitchfork. She told Dazed she was inspired by previous boycotts: “My favourite moment from the Oscars was when Brando didn’t attend and sent a Native American woman to talk about Wounded Knee. It was one of the greatest moments in American television.” This deliberate self-effacement continues in live incarnations of Hopelessness. Her recent shows at the Barbican began with a 15-minute long video of Naomi Campbell, dancing slowly as a growing rumble envelops the audience and the lights dim. When Anohni herself finally emerges, she is hooded and gloved, hidden beneath metres of flowing white fabric. Meanwhile, a giant screen behind her plays close-ups of a wide range of different women’s faces, who mouth along with the lyrics. The eye is drawn to them far more frequently than to Anohni herself. Perhaps true empathy involves both a projection of the self, and the erasure of it. “I don’t care about me,” she sings on “Hopelessness”. Anohni ends her concert with a video of the aboriginal artist Ngalangka Nola Taylor speaking directly to the audience. “What is happening to the world?” she asks. “How can we stop? How can we work together?” With the new Ghostbusters, busting just got even better Anohni explores a complex relationship between the self, politics and pop newstatesman.com

Anohni explores a complex relationship between the self, politics and pop Will there ever be another girl band like the Spice Girls? newstatesman.com How refugees filmed their own journeys to Europe for a new documentary Anohni explores a complex relationship between the self, politics and pop newstatesman.com 2016-07-17 02:45 Owen Jones www.newstatesman.com

12 Labour's new election rules are no match for Jeremy Corbyn voters Word of the week: Mayssacre (0.02/6) Tuesday's NEC meeting saw the Labour Party adopt new rules to restrict participation in its leadership contest. Presumably their intent was to assist anti-Corbyn forces by limiting the size of the pro- Crobyn selectorate. But in doing so the NEC has made a fundamental strategic miscalculation. It has chosen to refight the leadership contest of summer 2015 instead of setting the stage anew for summer 2016. To understand this, let's first consider what the big changes actually are: a freeze date of six months (meaning members who have joined since January can't vote in the leadership contest) an increase in the supporter registration fee from £3 to £25 a registration window of just 48hrs from Monday for new supporters affiliate registration deadline of August 8 (meaning that you can join a trade union or socialist society like the Fabians and vote in the leadership contest) Anti-Corbyn forces hope that these restrictions will prevent the participation of the near 150,000 new members that the Labour Party has added since 23 June alone. This has presumably been done because the experience of last summer was that Corbyn won the full membership more narrowly then the registered supporters section, which he won overwhelmingly. Thus restricting these supporters makes for a closer race among members. But such a logic, however undemocratic it may be, only holds if those new members are not able to find an alternative route into the franchise. Yet this is precisely what the affiliates route offers. As a consequence recently disenfranchised members can rejoin the leadership race by registering as an affiliate voter. Expect Unite to expand on its low cost membership scheme to allow exactly this to occur on a large scale. In attempting to restrict voting but leaving the affiliates route open, the NEC has thus made it easier to recruit through affiliates and harder to do so without them. In essence, this means new voters face higher barriers to entry. But the pro- Corbyn faction have significant numbers of voters who are probably willing to endure high barriers for their cause. In contrast, the anti-Corbyn faction may have a larger potential pool of voters , but these voters are likely to be deterred by high barriers to entry. Previously, the message could simply have been: "Angry about Corbyn's role in Brexit? Join Labour today. " Now this faction will have to say: "Angry about Corbyn's role in Brexit? Join a trade union you may dislike or a socialist society you've never heard of. " Pro-Corbyn supporters who have joined since January have both a strong pull factor (Corbyn) and a strong push factor (disenfranchisement). What's more, their politics likely align with that of the Unite leadership, which offers them an easy, low cost means of voting in the contest. Anti-Corbyn forces are now trying to shut the barn door after the horse has bolted by attempting to impose a freeze date on affiliates. But enforcing such a rule on affiliates may prove difficult. Last summer Labour was consumed by the mass participation of pro- Corbyn supporters. His opponents could have responded by beefing up their own numbers through mass recruitment at as low an entry cost as possible. Such party might have actually reflected the Labour electorate at large. But rather than out-recruiting the Corbynistas, the anti-Corbyn forces tried to win this fight using the rule book. Unfortunately for them, in leaving the affiliates door open, they may well have outsmarted themselves. After a week in which David Cameron resigned as Prime Minister and his successor Theresa May fired his Chancellor , the word of the week is: Mayssacre (n) The moment the colleague who never makes small talk gets a promotion and promptly sacks you and the rest of the lads. Usage: "Two years after a briefing war, she mayssacred Michael Gove. " "Be careful - you never know when she could mayssacre you. " "Jeremy Corbyn is finally carrying out his mayssacre of the PLP" Articles to read if you're facing a mayssacre: Theresa May's ruthlessness gives her the Cabinet she wants Top Tories who lost out in Theresa May's Cabinet reshuffle Do you have a suggestion for next week's word? Share it in the form below. Loading...

It’s neither in Labour nor the UK’s interests to blame Jeremy Corbyn for Brexit Word of the week: Mayssacre newstatesman.com

Commons confidential: Jezza's new tricks Word of the week: Mayssacre newstatesman.com 2016-07-17 02:45 Owen Jones www.newstatesman.com

13 Debating Trident now is a nakedly political act Word of the week: Mayssacre (0.01/6) Amongst all the political shenanigans, it would be easy to miss next week’s Parliamentary votes on renewing the UK’s Trident nuclear programme. There is no formal requirement for the debates to take place - or for the government to heed the result. Officially, the reason for having this nuclear debate now - immediately prior to the summer recess - is to gain Parliament’s endorsement for the Government’s decision to renew the existing force of four Trident submarines. In reality, the debate is motivated by three political factors – two are largely domestic and one mainly external – which reflect the current political scene in the UK rather than the question of the defence of the nation. First, it is politically advantageous for the Conservative government to have this debate. The Labour opposition are in a state of disarray, with the issue of nuclear replacement symptomatic of the divisions between the leadership under Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour MPs, the unions and the wider membership. It allows the government to reinforce the message to the electorate that Labour are, as they were in the 1980s, "unsafe" - and by inference unelectable - on the defence issue alone. Second, it provides a clear and convenient opportunity for the new Conservative Prime Minister to set her stall out on foreign and security policy. The debate enables Theresa May to firmly establish herself as the safe pair of hands she campaigned on, uniting her party against those on the opposition benches in favour of unilateralism. Thirdly, the debate is about messaging beyond Parliament and Whitehall. In the wake of the vote to leave the European Union a vote to replace Trident can reassure Britain’s NATO allies that the UK remains committed to the alliance and will not become the ‘nuclear Switzerland’ some have feared. It also sends a message more widely to allies and potential opponents that the UK government does not intend to withdraw from the world stage as it has been accused of in recent years. Similarly, at home, it attempts to reinforce the message that the UK will remain a global actor even after the Brexit vote - thus providing reassurance in the wake of the vote. All this strategic messaging may look entirely sensible, and the party politics understandable. But there is one major problem. In the post-Brexit world with sterling at a low point against the dollar, estimates that the UK’s GDP is set to fall over the next decade and concerns of a second referendum on Scottish independence, the timing could not be worse. Last November’s 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review was based on the premise that, over the preceding five years, the world had become a far more dangerous place. Yet it also announced delays in reconfiguring the UK’s armed forces post-Iraq and Afghanistan wars by a further five years to 2025. The renewal of Trident no longer looks affordable. Post-Brexit, the UK’s defence equipment programme is confronted with footing the bill for a number of increasingly costly programmes from the US - including nine Boeing P8A maritime patrol aircraft (£3bn+) and 50 new AH64E Apache attack helicopters ($2bn) announced just this week. At the same time, defence and security pegged at 2 per cent of GDP looks like it will fall. And, if Scottish independence is indeed a possibility, then the future of the nuclear bases at Faslane and Coulport look uncertain. If ever there was a good moment to consider basing Trident outside of Scotland, it would be now - before the proposed £500m expenditure on infrastructure at Faslane is spent. Rather than committing to a nuclear future now, conducting a new, post- Brexit, defence and security review looks a far more sensible option, from which the nuclear decision can follow. Andrew M Dorman is Professor of International Security at King’s College London and the commissioning editor for international affairs at Chatham House. After a week in which David Cameron resigned as Prime Minister and his successor Theresa May fired his Chancellor , the word of the week is: Mayssacre (n) The moment the colleague who never makes small talk gets a promotion and promptly sacks you and the rest of the lads. Usage: "Two years after a briefing war, she mayssacred Michael Gove. " "Be careful - you never know when she could mayssacre you. " "Jeremy Corbyn is finally carrying out his mayssacre of the PLP" Articles to read if you're facing a mayssacre: Theresa May's ruthlessness gives her the Cabinet she wants Top Tories who lost out in Theresa May's Cabinet reshuffle Do you have a suggestion for next week's word? Share it in the form below. Loading...

Commons confidential: Jezza's new tricks Word of the week: Mayssacre newstatesman.com 2016-07-17 02:45 Owen Jones www.newstatesman.com

14 What would we do if GPS failed? Ukip donor Arron Banks wants to fund a new political party – how would it work? (0.01/6) It’s easy to forget that so much of what we use depends upon the Global Positioning System. Some may even be unaware that their day-to-day activities wholly rely on it. We are able to send instant messages over continental distances, drive with confidence to places we’ve never visited, and place full trust in pilots to land us safely at our destination, all because of GPS. Thanks to a carefully calibrated, intricate network of 24 satellites placed in orbit by the US Department of Defence beyond the Earth’s stratosphere, the technologically-mediated world we inhabit seems to be one that is fundamentally woven into the fabric of the planet, naturally evolving, safe- guarded from malfunctioning. GPS has facilitated the growth of almost all the infrastructures that shape our lives. The microwave signals sent back down to Earth from the satellites help receivers to establish parameters of space, time and velocity. The satellites are embedded with atomic clocks, devices that can measure the time accurately down to a nanosecond. These are in sync with the Coordinated Universal Time – the primary time standard of the world. By acting as both a positioning and timing system, GPS has been almost irreversibly tied to the smooth running of international operations: banking transactions, military ventures and meteorological analysis have all been influenced. The total collapse of GPS may seem like the most improbable of outcomes; a rational assumption can be made that something as fundamental to societal processes as GPS will be heavily protected and rigorously backed- up in case of an emergency. But what if it all comes crashing down? In terms of a cyber warfare-led, direct attack on the satellite system itself, the risk of GPS meltdown is minimal. Colorado houses the GPS Master Control Station, served and protected by the United States Air Force. Therefore any terrorist-based attack designed to induce anarchy would have to overcome the near-impossible task of penetrating the Colorado base, or wield a weapon powerful enough to take down the satellite constellation. Slightly more problematic is the fact that GPS isn’t quite beyond the reaches of a natural disaster. In 1859, a solar storm known as the Carrington Event took place, which caused severe geomagnetic disturbances on Earth; it meant “northern lights were reported as far south as Cuba and Honolulu, while southern lights were seen as far north as Santiago, Chile”. The modernisation of the world by technology means that a repeat occurrence of 1859’s storm would be ruinous. On a smaller scale, the risk of failure seems to be far greater. Earlier this year, time-monitoring company Chronos noted that a number of their clients had reported massive disruptions , later found to be as a result of a slight shift in GPS signalling timing – 13 microseconds to be exact. The resulting chaos that ensued culminated in 12 hours of system errors. A recurrent issue for GPS has been jamming; given the generally weak nature of GPS signals, they are prone to being thrown off course by jamming (the process of blocking GPS signals). Usually, jamming is caused by drivers ( including thousands of people in the UK ) who use small devices to dodge being tracked. For example, cab drivers or delivery men who want to avoid their employers keeping tabs on their journeys and whereabouts. According to The Atlantic , it’s this type of jamming that has caused disruptions to airports and halted port operations. Similar to jamming is spoofing – the relaying of a false signal to a GPS receiver. Spoof signals are indistinguishable from the real signals, meaning that they can seriously skew the GPS’s timing. According to The New Yorker , a spoof signal sent from a device built by the Los Alamos National Laboratory was able to convince a stationary receiver that it was moving at 600 miles per hour. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is very little in place to sustain the systems dependent on GPS, in case of a catastrophic collapse. There will be systems launched by Europe and China by 2020, but sceptics feel little has been done to improve upon the weaknesses of the internationally- accessible GPS. Another avenue being explored is the implementation of improved atomic clocks, ones which can stay in harmony with the atomic clocks of other satellites as well as Coordinated Universal Time in the case signalling failure. This type of system shows promise, but costs will mount as research exploring the potential use of these clocks is expected to be prolonged. The devastating consequences that could arise from the subtlest of changes to GPS signalling make the whole system seem shaky. Power grids could go down, communication services could buckle, and weather forecasts could end up completely off. Even the millions playing Pokémon Go , Nintendo’s new, smartphone-based augmented reality game, will no longer be able to head outdoors to catch ‘em all. It seems then that if we are to continue with a form of modernity propped up by the hovering satellites of the GPS above, it will in turn need us to take a moment to prop it up, too. The man behind the man behind Ukip, ie. the guy who’s been bankrolling Nigel Farage’s party reasonably unnoticed, is “insurance millionaire” Arron Banks. Just yesterday, the softly spoken party donor (particularly in contrast to Farage) quietly pledged £10m to fund a new political party if Theresa May won the Tory leadership. Now that’s all done – following Andrea Leadsom’s decision to leave the race, meaning May will likely be in No 10 by Wednesday – we must quickly turn our attention back to the man who isn’t afraid to put his money where his mouth is. Speaking to Andrew Marr on the BBC yesterday morning, Banks, who gave millions to the unofficial Leave. EU campaign, said: “If Theresa May wins, Ukip will be back with a vengeance. “We potentially could be talking about a new party and I think there are very sound reasons for that. “The Leave. EU campaign has nearly one million online followers. On social media it reached out to 15 million people a week.” Banks said it would have a new name and would “very much so” be an online effort, with more money and fresh faces. He claimed Leave. EU’s email database, a goldmine to anyone doing digital campaigning, already has 40,000 Conservative members on it, of a membership only tipping 100,000. But, as Banks admitted to Marr, “the Conservative party is a dying membership”, so hardly the target market for a new, jazzy digital party. There are, for course, 500,000 Labour members out there too. Not to mention all the normal people who don’t usually join political parties, but presumably will now that they’re doing good memes. With UKIP, or with a swanky rebranded party, Banks said he reckons they could win 30 to 40 seats, likely in places in the North East that voted heavily for Leave: “I don’t think it’s just immigration. It’s this whole disconnect between the ‘metropolitan elite’ that sneer at working people and I think there’s a great opportunity to take some real policies back into these Labour heartlands.” He also touted the potential for more direct democracy initiatives, like the referendum. If Leadsom had stayed in the race and won, Ukip voters could probably have been convinced to switch their support back to the mainstream party. Although, had that happened, some Conservative MPs already pledged they would quit. Now Leadsom is out, you could be hearing more from NuKip (?) in your newsfeed very soon. Watch this space. Or leave. Leave now. This article was originally published on NS Tech .

Ukip donor Arron Banks wants to fund a new political party – how would it work? When idealists go to battle: why the Spanish Civil War still matters newstatesman.com 2016-07-17 02:45 Owen Jones www.newstatesman.com

15 Military families sent loved ones body armor to make up for shortages in Iraq frontline kit — RT UK On Thursday, the second of a two-day debate in the House of Commons held in the wake of Sir John Chilcot’s scathing report on July 6, a number of MPs raised the issue of equipment shortages. Many of those who spoke were “ Honourable and Gallant ” members of parliament – an archaic term for elected politicians who have served in the armed forces. Among them was Jim Shannon from Northern Ireland’s conservative Democratic Unionist Party, who once served in the locally-recruited Ulster Defence Regiment. “ We can’t keep sending forces into places they are not prepared to go into, both in terms of equipment and understanding of the reason, ” he said. Although he was not an MP at the time of the Iraq war, he said he has since been approached by constituents who told him they were “ sending socks and boots and food and bodywarmers” to military relatives. On one occasion, soldiers’ families reported sending “body armour to their people in Iraq,” he said. Tory MP Johnny Mercer, who served in Afghanistan in a commando artillery regiment, said: “ We as a military betrayed those individuals who lost their lives in this conflict as a direct result of equipment shortages. ” He delivered a stark warning about the failure of senior commanders “ to speak truth to power ” at the time of the war. He also raised allegations that senior politicians kept the military in the dark ahead of the war and, in doing so, denied them the chance to organize adequate kit. “ It is inconceivable to me to allow political administration in this country to hamper preparations for war because it did not politically want to be seen to be doing so, ” he raged. The debate also saw the UK press criticized for its role in the build up to the disastrous war, which cost the lives of 150,000 people, at the most conservative estimate, 179 of which were UK service personnel. Ulster Unionist Party MP Danny Kinahan said: “ The press must examine themselves, they must look at this and see how much of what went wrong in Iraq was due also to their pressure. ” “ And at the same time we must look at how we use the press, and how senior members in politics push the press to do what they want ,” he added.

2016-07-17 06:00 www.rt.com

16 Nice attack prompts Donald Trump to postpone VP announcement — RT America Trump had planned to introduce his running mate on Friday, but announced on Twitter that he was canceling the event following news of the truck rampage on Thursday evening. While Indiana Governor Mike Pence is the likely pick for the position, Trump told Fox News on Thursday, “I haven’t made my final, final decision.” However, when asked later that evening, he said he had made his pick and was “ready to announce.” New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are also reportedly on Trump’s shortlist. Pence is seen as a staunch conservative and an experienced running mate who could soothe Republican concerns about Trump’s inexperience. His conservative beliefs, which included passing a law that would allow businesses to refuse to serve gay customers, mean he is likely to attract the support of evangelical Christians, big donors and the Tea Party, of whom he was an early supporter. Pence is running for re-election in Indiana this year and will have to drop out of the governor’s race by Friday if he is to be the vice presidential pick, as Indiana state law prohibits a politician from running for two offices at the same time. The Republican Convention kicks off Monday in Cleveland, Ohio and Trump’s formal announcement is likely to take place before then, although it is unclear when it will be rescheduled.

2016-07-17 06:00 www.rt.com

17 Koreans egg PM for defending US antimissile deployment (VIDEO) — RT News Seoul announced on Wednesday that it had chosen Seongju, a farming area in southeastern North Gyeongsang Province, to host the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), an anti-missile system that the US is to provide. The decision came as a surprise for local residents and sparked angry protests. Protesters pelted the senior government official with eggs and plastic water bottles as he addressed them from the stairs of the county office on Friday, footage of the incident shows. Security guards unfolded ballistic boards and umbrellas to protect their boss and took him inside. When he later tried to leave the compound a crowd of several hundred people blocked his mini-bus with a tractor and wouldn’t let him go for several hours, even as Hwang switched the vehicle, Yonhap news agency reported. Unlike his suit, Hwang, who holds a largely ceremonial position in the South Korean government, was unharmed in the altercation. But a senior police officer received a forehead injury. Seongju residents are concerned that THAAD may pose a health hazard due to a powerful radar system it uses to track targets. They don’t believe the government, which said the radar is safe from people as long as they keep at least 100 meters from it. Defense Minister Han Min-koo, who visited Seongju along with PM Hwang, earlier said he would personally stand in front of the radars to prove they aren't harmful. A series of protests were held by the people in the past few days, including one staged in front of the Defense Ministry building in the capital. Thirteen local leaders went on a hunger strike to oppose the deployment. READ MORE: Thousands of S. Koreans protest US missile defense system as Seoul announces location Washington and Seoul say THAAD deployment is necessary to protect South Korea from a growing missile threat from Pyongyang. The North warned that it would use “physical measures” against the system, once it is deployed. The deployment was criticized by China, which says THAAD radar would be used to survey its airspace, and by Russia, which criticized the move because it upsets the balance of power in the region.

2016-07-17 06:00 www.rt.com

18 #PrayForNice engulfs Twitter in wake of tragedy — RT News Crowds had gathered along the city’s waterfront Promenade des Anglais to watch fireworks marking Bastille Day when a truck ploughed through revelers. The vehicle covered some 2km before the driver was tackled by police. READ MORE: What we know so far about Nice truck rampage on Bastille Day While #PrayForNice and #JeSuisNice were used in the hours after the attack to express both grief and support for the victims, locals offered shelter to those in need using #PortesOuvertesNice. A similarly helpful tweet campaign was used in November after the Paris attacks to help house people who were unable to get home that night. Meanwhile, #RechercheNice is being used by people looking for missing friends and family. Facebook’s safety check was also activated after the attack, allowing people to check in and inform their online friends of their safety. At the beginning of this morning’s Tour de France a minute’s silence was held for the victims while at the British Open golf tournament the French flag flew at half-mast. READ MORE: ‘We knew such an attack would happen, French authorities do nothing to prevent them’ – local to RT “My heart is with the people of Nice,” French footballer Yohan Cabaye tweeted, his sentiments shared by members of the sporting community including Formula One team McLaren. Frustration at the attack was expressed simply with the words “Je suis sick of this.” The injustice of the killing of innocent people is expressed in one tweet with the words, “They just wanted to admire the sky, not join it” accompanied by an image of the Bastille Day fireworks.

2016-07-17 06:00 www.rt.com

19 National Freedom Party out of the elections after losing last gasp bid This follows the Electoral Court’s decision to dismiss the party’s bid to be included on the ballot paper‚ after missing the Electoral Commission of SA’s (IEC’s) payment deadline. The Electoral Court’s decision is a blow for the already embattled NFP‚ the country’s fifth-biggest political party‚ whose leader Zanele Magwaza-Msibi has been out of action for more than a year after falling ill at the end of 2014‚ leading to a vacuum that led to divisions within the party. At the weekend two senior party members‚ secretary-general Nhlanhla Khubisa and national chairman Maliyakhe Shelembe‚ resigned from the NFP. The party approached the Electoral Court last week after treasurer Xolani Ndlovu‚ in what the party called an “administrative error”‚ misread the deadline provided by the IEC and paid the R90‚000 deposit late. The IEC on Monday said the court had dismissed the NFP matter. The order was issued on Saturday. However‚ the NFP made no mention of the court’s decision at a press briefing held in Durban on Sunday. But it did announce that it had decided to suspend deputy chairman Scelo Mabika and Ndlovu. This means the party‚ formed on the eve of the 2011 local government polls‚ will have no representation at local government elections ahead of the next general election in 2019. The NFP was a breakaway party from the Inkatha Freedom Party. It is not clear whether the fracturing party can survive if it cannot contest the August 3 elections. Worsening its position are the suspensions and resignations of party leaders. The party has said it will take the matter all the way to the Constitutional Court in a bid to contest the polls. In 2011‚ the NFP won 644‚917 votes‚ giving it more than 200 councillors‚ mainly in KwaZulu-Natal. The NFP went on to forge a coalition with the ANC in 19 hung municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal. Magwaza-Msibi has worked closely with the ANC‚ and is the deputy minister of science and technology‚ but has not been active since her illness. 2016-07-17 06:00 Genevieve Quintal www.timeslive.co.za

20 ‘SA unashamedly parades love for censorship on international stage’: DA Ursula Grobler, an old schoolmate of veteran swimmer Roland Schoeman who failed to qualify for his fifth Olympics this year, is headed to her first Games at the ripe old age of 36.

2016-07-17 06:00 Tmg Digital www.timeslive.co.za

21 Cricket SA fired me for social media reaction, says Australia- bound HD Ackerman Ackerman posted the below message on his Facebook page on Thursday. He was supported on the site by former test fast bowler Meyrick Pringle‚ who advised him to “let it fly over your head and keep smiling‚ china. Family comes first.” Ackerman first posted news of his move‚ which will happen in September‚ on Monday. “SA has so much potential‚” he wrote. On September 19‚ Ackerman will start as director of coaching at Guildford Grammar‚ a private school in Perth. Jon Kent and Gary Gilder‚ two of his fellow former Dolphins‚ were among well-wishers while former test fast bowler Brett Schultz posted‚ “And SA loses another incredible talent‚ as a player in his day and behind the microphone in the modern game.” But on Twitter‚ others took less kindly to Ackerman’s announcement. One user branded him the “latest to join the chicken run”. Another wrote: “Always felt he was anti-transformation in SA cricket. Didn’t support Temba’s (Bavuma) inclusion in that test.” To which Ackerman responded: “That’s where you are so wrong.” CSA ignored requests for comment on Ackerman’s latest Facebook post.

2016-07-17 06:00 Telford Vice www.timeslive.co.za

22 DA: ‘ANC candidates list represents corruption‚ declining service delivery and unemployment’ “The ANC cannot bring the change South Africa needs‚ because it is more concerned with putting allies of Jacob Zuma in top mayoral positions. Zuma's pals will‚ like the President‚ put self-enrichment first and the people last‚” DA spokesperson Phumzile Van Damme said in a statement on Sunday. The DA has accused Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral candidate Danny Jordaan of being a “part-time Mayor of broken promises after having faked the launch of a Metro Police‚ introducing 21‚000 more NMB residents to the ranks of the unemployed since December 2015 and losing over R320 million to leaks and electricity theft in the last 9 months. “Additionally‚ Jordaan's criminal pal Linda Mti was recently appointed to the Head of Safety and Security‚” said Van Damme. “In five years Mayor Parks Tau has overseen unemployment in Johannesburg rise to 869‚000. At the same time conditions in the informal settlements of Johannesburg have deteriorated to where the SA Human Rights Commission is now investigating the Johannesburg ANC government for human rights abuses. That the ANC wants to give Tau another term in government shows that the ANC doesn't take service delivery and stopping corruption seriously. “In Tshwane‚ the failure to reaffirm Mayor [Kgosientso “Sputla’] Ramokgopa shows that the ANC recognises that he and his ANC government have failed to deliver‚ including Sputla's PEU smart-meter Billion Rand scandal‚ unlawful broadband contracts‚ undrinkable water in Hammanskraal with 40‚000 more people joining the ranks of the unemployed in Tshwane since January 2016.” The DA said the ANC's inability to select a Tshwane candidate shows “a fractured and broken ANC in Tshwane”. “The voters cannot place trust in a party that fails to even agree on a suitable candidate for Mayor because it is so fractured and factionalised”. Van Damme added that the DA is ready to bring real change to Nelson Mandela Bay‚ Tshwane‚ Johannesburg‚ Ekurhuleni and many other places across the country. “This is the change that will stop corruption‚ deliver better services and create jobs. This is the change we need to move our country forward again.”

2016-07-17 06:00 Nomahlubi Jordaan www.timeslive.co.za

23 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.

2016-07-17 06:00 TMG Digital www.timeslive.co.za

24 SABC CEO Jimi Matthews quits: ‘What’s happening at the SABC is wrong' Matthews tweeted a picture of his resignation letter to SABC board chair Professor Mbulayeni Maghuve on Monday morning. In it he wrote: “It is with great sadness that I tender my immediate resignation. “For many months I have compromised the values I hold dear under the mistaken belief that I could be more effective inside the SABC than outside‚ passing comment from the side-lines. “In the process the prevailing‚ corrosive atmosphere has impacted negatively on my moral judgment and has made me complicit in many decision which I am not proud of. “What is happening at the SABC is wrong and I can no longer be part of it.” Matthews also apologised to the “many people who I’ve let down by remaining silent when my voice needs to be heard”. Matthews was most recently in the news when he complied an answering affidavit on behalf of the SABC in its defence against a complaint lodged at the Independent Communications Authority of SA over the its decision to not show footage from violent protests. The complainants - the Media Monitoring Africa (MMA)‚ supported by the SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition and the Freedom of Expression Institute – said the decision constituted blatant censorship by the broadcaster‚ more so in the run-up to the August local government elections. On Friday‚ the South African National Editors’ Forum said it was “shocked by the suspension of three senior SABC journalists - economics editor Thandeka Gqubule‚ RSG executive producer Foeta Krige and senior journalist Suna Venter - …for disagreeing with an instruction during a diary conference not to cover the Right2Know (R2K) campaign’s protest against censorship at the public broadcaster”.

2016-07-17 06:00 Tmg Digital www.timeslive.co.za

25 John Terry will remain Chelsea's captain, says new boss Antonio Conte Terry, 35, signed a new one-year contract at Stamford Bridge in May to end speculation that he was going to leave the London club after more than 700 appearances. He remains a firm favourite with the club's fans. "John Terry is captain of this team. He is a great player with a great personality and charisma. He knows the club. We take all decisions together with the club and I am very happy John signed," Conte said. Conte, who guided Juventus to three successive Serie A titles from 2012 to 2014 before becoming the Italian national team coach, has replaced interim manager Guus Hiddink. Known for his motivational powers and fiery touchline presence, the Italian said the team would need to emulate his work ethic to get back to winning ways after missing out on qualification for European soccer. "When I was in Italy I liked to say the coach is like a tailor, who must make the best dress for the team," Conte said. "Every manager has his own idea of football and I want to transfer my ideas to the players. I have great passion for football, for my team and my work. "It's important to have players who are ready to fight, play good football and transfer our passion and emotion to the fans. I am a worker. I suffer during the game. I want my players and the fans to see this. " Chelsea, the 2014-15 Premier League champions, finished only 10th in the table last season and parted company with manager Jose Mourinho midway through the campaign. "Last season was a bad season," Conte said. "We must fight for the title, we belong in the Champions League and we must stay there. "This league is very difficult. There are six or seven teams that can win the title. This situation excites me. " Conte is the fifth Italian to manage Chelsea, following in the footsteps of Gianluca Vialli, Claudio Ranieri, Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Di Matteo. He begins his tenure in England with a London derby at home to West Ham United on Aug. 15. (Reporting by Ian Rodricks in Bengaluru; Editing by Keith Weir)

2016-07-17 06:00 REUTERS www.timeslive.co.za

26 ‘Brexit and the shanty town between France and Britain’ by Maite Nkoana-Mashabane Responding to a question at a briefing in Pretoria‚ she said: "Brexit? We don't know about it. We saw it on television. We heard it will impact negatively on trade and relations‚ but we haven't seen any evidence of that. " She recently became the target of ridicule after a rambling interview with Al Jazeera. On Monday‚ she appeared unconcerned by the admission that she knew nothing about the most momentous event in world affairs in recent times. The vote‚ by Britain‚ to exit the EU - SA's largest trading partner - has shaken global markets and sent currencies on a roller- coaster ride. Below is the full transcript of two of her responses‚ as released on Tuesday by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation‚ and published here unedited: Asked by RFI: “Question is on the visit to France. I would like to ask you about the importance of this visit in the context of Brexit and how that's going to change South Africa's relations with France especially accessing the EU market?” Nkoana-Mashabane: "Before I go to this question‚ before I forget even on the things I want to say on a lighter note. For some reason there is something very special between us and France. “When we were campaigning for Mme Dlamini Zuma we were told that: " aren't you aware that you are up against France? "‚ so we wondered‚ France is a member of the European Union. “We are members of the African Union so this can't be true. So Brexit‚ we don't know about it. We saw it on television. We hear that it would impact‚ when it started‚ negatively on our trade and investment relations with countries from that part but we haven't seen real evidence. “Maybe it is still coming but one thing first we are not members there and we can only say viva democracy.” Question by Carien du Plessis from News24:.... Also another question about Brexit. It looks like after Brexit‚ the EU project is crumbling a little bit. A lot of people want to pull out. Do you think this affect negatively the philosophy that the AU is currently chasing the whole integration idea or integrated market. Do you think this could affect the AU negatively? " Nkoana-Mashabane: “The Europeans were never colonised. They colonised others. So whatever we do here starting from the Organisation of the African Union to the African Union we were not mimicking the European Union because we come from two different backgrounds. “If their project failed or is failing we wish it shouldn't fail because people nowadays in 2016‚ if we understood what globalisation was about‚ is that they would follow opportunities. “So if you say we would build high walls to stop them we do not know how practical that is. That even when Brexit or when Britain was exiting‚ people were arriving in boats in Europe so I don't know how immune is the UK from that. “But I know that there is a big shanty town that's building up between the two countries. Am I correct? So those people are in limbo so one day they would have to go somewhere because they would not go back to their home countries. “Of course we focus on protecting and respecting the sovereignty of our individual member states and practically deal with issues of border control that would not necessarily inhibit people‚ genuine travellers who are carrying‚ who are documented‚ to be able to do business with their own backyard market. President Museveni says it takes two weeks to transport cattle by truck in the same region called the EAC from Uganda to Kenya. “So if we had good roads and rail infrastructure it wouldn't be a problem. At a given checkpoint on whether this cattle are healthy and have all their documents they could pass but that which has been an inhibition it's not whether they were healthy or not‚ it's because the roads infrastructure made it difficult. So we are still dealing with basics here. “But we say it's not necessary for me to fly to France in order for me to connect to Nouakchott. I should be able to fly from OR Tambo to Nouakchott so these are the things that we are still dealing with. So really we are not at the level where we can be saying you know the Union on the other side of those who once colonised us is falling apart so stop integrating.”

2016-07-17 06:00 TMG Digital www.timeslive.co.za

27 Sundowns edge closer to African Champions League semifinals Even a draw would likely be good enough as it would leave them with a four- point advantage over bottom side Enyimba of Nigeria with two games left to play in the three-team Group B. The Brazilians have been impressive in the pool so far‚ claiming an excellent 2-0 victory away in Algeria against ES Setif that was later chalked off the record books after their hosts were disqualified from the competition for crowd misbehaviour. That was followed by a tense but ultimately comfortable 2- 1 home win over Enyimba on June 29 in which they were the better side. That was the last outing for coach Pitso Mosimane’s side‚ who have been given a break in between matches to recharge batteries‚ but have come back spitting fire and knowing how victory over Zamalek‚ probably their biggest challengers for the title remaining in the competition‚ could define their campaign. Mosimane says that although the Setif result no longer counts‚ the experience gained from winning in Algeria will be valuable for his side against a Zamalek team he feels will present a similar challenge. "They [Zamalek] are typical North Africans‚” Mosimane told reporters this week. “Much like Setif‚ you must avoid set-pieces. They have big boys and have an excellent delivery technique. The free-kicks against Setif into the box and the corner-kicks were all perfect. They’ve got the height as well. "I always tell the boys‚ as long as it’s 11 against 11 on the pitch and the referee is doing his job well‚ then we should be able to play our normal game. What’s good is that no one is afraid of teams like Zamalek. " Sundowns are sweating over the fitness of influential forward Khama Billiat and key defender Thabo Nthethe‚ while utility player Mzikayise Mashaba is definitely sidelined. Playmaker Keagan Dolly has recently returned from a bout of flu‚ while experienced Liberian forward Anthony Laffor is back after a short‚ self- imposed exile‚ and goalkeeper Dennis Onyango is fit again. Zamalek have been victorious on all three previous occasions in which they have hosted South African sides. They beat Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 in the Champions Cup in 1993‚ and were 2-1 winners over Orlando Pirates in the Champions League in 2013. They met Pirates again in the Confederation Cup last year and claimed a 4-1 home victory. Mosimane may feel that this could be his team’s year in the continent's elite competition‚ though after their back-door entry into the group stages following the disqualification of AS Vita Club and their fine start in the pool. His admits it is his major target in the next few seasons after collecting two domestic league titles in three years‚ and also winning the Telkom Knockout and Nedbank Cup. "I came here to win the Champions League‚ more than anything‚ and to make sure we have a very good footprint in the competition‚" said Mosimane‚ who recently signed a new four-year contract. "We have done well so far‚ which will bode well for next year’s group stages. Unless the rules change‚ we won’t play the first-round preliminary games. “I believe consistency will be there in the Champions League in future.” Zamalek have asked Egypt’s Ministry of Interior if they can increase the number of fans allowed into the 16‚000-seater Petro Sport Stadium from 3‚000 to 5‚000. Egyptian teams have the numbers of spectators at matches limited due to the unstable political situation in the country‚ where football has been used before to incite violence.

2016-07-17 06:00 Nick Said www.timeslive.co.za

28 Disqualifying NFP from polls violates voters’ constitutional rights: EFF Saying “money or fees payments should never be a basis upon which a political party is allowed to contest elections”‚ the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on Wednesday called on the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the Electoral Court to allow the NFP to contest the elections. On Tuesday‚ KwaZulu-Natal IEC head Mawethu Mosery announced that the NFP would be barred from taking part in the poll‚ as it had failed to pay the R90 000 deposit that is a prerequisite for participation. The EFF noted that the “NFP is currently a majority party in some municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal” and the results of the 2014 general showed that a “section of the electorate has “confidence in the NFP”. “Disallowing the NFP an opportunity to contest the 2016 local government elections will not just be penalising the leadership of the NFP‚ but will be violating voters’ constitutional rights to vote for a political party of their own choice‚” said the EFF’s Mbuyiseni Ndlozi. “The IEC and Electoral Court should therefore not magnify an administrative fault into a decision that will prevent the whole political party‚ its candidates and voters from participating in a democratic process.” Ndlozi said his party was taking “this principled position because‚ in 2014‚ the EFF challenged the IEC in court over the constitutionality of demanding money from political parties and individuals who want to contest elections”. “We still stand by a view that the IEC should utilise a different criteria to determine the seriousness of political parties and candidates that wish to contest elections‚ other than money‚ because accessibility of money in South Africa has class‚ racial and even gender connotations.”

2016-07-17 06:00 TMG Digital www.timeslive.co.za

29 NBA: Heat exec Riley ‘floored’ by Wade’s departure MIAMI, United States — Miami Heat president Pat Riley admitted Saturday that the departure of veteran Dwyane Wade “floored” him and he regretted not taking a more active role in talks to retain the star. Wade, a three-time champion with Miami, accepted Chicago’s two-year, $47 million contract after turning down an offer of two years for $40 million to return to Miami. “What happened with Dwyane floored me,” Riley told reporters at the team’s AmericanAirlines Arena on Saturday. “I’m not trying to fall on the sword for anybody. I have great regret that I didn’t immerse myself in the middle of it. “My responsibility was to make it happen. Dwyane left and the buck really stops here,” he said. In 855 regular-season games with the Heat, Wade averaged 23.7 points and shot 48.8 percent. He averaged 19 points in 74 games last season after missing a combined 48 contests due to various injuries the previous two seasons. The departure of a player who has been their lynchpin was part of a “tough summer” for the club, Riley said. He said the Heat still aren’t sure when veteran center Chris Bosh might return to action after missing portions of the last two seasons due to recurrence of blood-clotting issues. “It’s always fluid and it always has been,” Riley said of the 11-time All-Star’s health. “I know he wants to play and we would be open to that.” Bosh averaged 19.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in 53 games last season, but didn’t play after February 9 because of blood clots in his calf. Bosh had missed the second half of the 2014-15 campaign with blood clots, one of which migrated to his lungs. But he apparently wanted to play last season — issuing a statement in March noting that his condition in the 2015-16 season had “never been life- threatening”. “It’s a sensitive, complicated situation that I can’t really speak to medically,” Riley said. “From a basketball standpoint, I’ve been told we’re sort of put on hold here. We know what Chris is capable of, and the last two years, losing him after the All-Star break both years in a row, you just never know what you have or what you could have done, from that standpoint, as a team.”

2016-07-17 06:00 Agence France sports.inquirer.net

30 SpaceX launching space station docking port for Nasa CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX aims to launch another load of space station supplies for Nasa, including a critical docking port needed by new U. S. crew capsules set to debut next year. The unmanned Falcon rocket is scheduled to lift off early Monday. Excellent weather is forecast for the 12:45 a.m. launch. Aboard the rocket is a replica of the docking port destroyed in a SpaceX launch accident last summer. This is port No. 2. NASA needs at least one and preferably two of these ports for crew capsules under development by both SpaceX and Boeing. Americans have been stuck riding Russian rockets to the International Space Station since shuttles stopped flying five years ago this month. The SpaceX Dragon and Boeing Starliner capsules will ease this Russian dependency. SpaceX, meanwhile, will try to land its leftover booster back at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, just a couple miles from the Falcon launch pad. The California-based company wants to reuse its rockets to save time and money. It’s only landed a used first-stage booster on land once, back in December. Three other boosters touched down vertically on an ocean platform, after delivering spacecraft to orbit. SpaceX’s vice president of flight reliability, Hans Koenigsmann, said Saturday that the company plans to launch its first recycled booster this fall. The SpaceX Dragon cargo ship, meanwhile, holds about 5,000 pounds of food, science experiments and equipment. One-thousand pounds of that is the all-important docking port. For the first time ever, the NASA press site at Kennedy Space Center will be evacuated for Monday’s launch attempt, as will the neighboring Vehicle Assembly Building and the rest of the former shuttle launch complex. A risk evaluation by the Air Force shows that the Dragon capsule, full of toxic fuel, could parachute down into this targeted area in the event of a launch failure. The wind is expected to be blowing right in the press site’s direction, thus the evacuation order. Journalists as well as NASA and SpaceX public relations staff and VIPs have been ordered to find alternative viewing sites. To save a cargo-laden Dragon in case of a launch accident, SpaceX added the option of releasing the capsule’s parachutes in just such an emergency. The change came after a Dragon and all its contents were destroyed when the Falcon rocket failed shortly after liftoff from Cape Canaveral in June 2015. The SpaceX Dragon is the only supply ship capable of returning items to Earth from the space station, thus the original need for parachutes. TVJ

2016-07-17 06:00 Associated Press technology.inquirer.net

31 Workers to Duterte: Right wrongs A MILITANT labor group yesterday urged President Duterte to hold his predecessor accountable for “crimes against workers,” as they challenged him to keep his word to end contractualization. The Kilusang Mayo Uno accused former President Benigno S. Aquino III of taking the lives of hundreds of workers, peasants and lumad through the military’s counter-insurgency campaign. “The workers call on the President to hold Aquino accountable for his crimes against Filipino workers and the people,” the group said a statement yesterday. KMU chair Elmer Labog reiterated the group’s demand for an increase in the minimum wage from P481 to P750. The increase in the national minimum wage, they said, would provide “immediate relief to workers and their families and would counter the distortion caused by the Wage Rationalization Law.” He likewise reiterated KMU’s willingness “to work with the Department of Labor and Employment in drafting proposals and measures to totally curb contractualization,” the KMU said. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, meanwhile, has formed a technical working group to formulate ways to end the practice of contractualization. Bello yesterday named Undersecretary for Social Protection Ciriaco Lagunzad III to head the panel on contractualization, together with fellow Undersecretary Joel Maglungsod. The labor secretary stressed that short-term employment contracts, whether through direct hiring by employers or through contracting out, were not allowed. Such practices are contrary to the provisions of Articles 106 to 109 of the Labor Code on contracting, or a circumvention of Article 249 on unfair labor practices, he said. Julie Aurelio and Toni Diane Bellen

2016-07-17 05:58 Philippine Daily newsinfo.inquirer.net

32 Trash in cities gets Duterte ire NOTING that intelligence and discretionary funds were the easiest to pocket, President Duterte said he planned to create a special team to look into how local officials used their allocations. Mr. Duterte bared his plan in Davao City Friday night as he lamented that the country’s streets were strewn with garbage and local officials were not doing their jobs of keeping their areas clean. “The Philippines is so dirty, the mayors are not doing anything,” Mr. Duterte said in his remarks at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency office in Davao City. “There is trash and garbage around and yet we have to wait for the plastic to enter the drainage so every time there’s a downpour, excessive rain, water, there is clogging,” he said. Governors and mayors have discretionary and intelligence funds at their disposal, he noted. “I will look into it. I will create a special team. I will review your intelligence funds as well. Those are the easiest to pocket,” he said. He said local officials were being paid to do a job, and this included ridding the streets of trash. “The mayors who are not performing, you make your city clean and peaceful. That is why you are being paid, that is why you are in your beautiful offices,” he said. He lamented that these local officials who were not performing instead had fancy furniture and cars. “Have you no shame?” he added.

2016-07-17 05:57 Leila B newsinfo.inquirer.net

33 Phony e-mails not ours—BOC The Bureau of Customs (BOC) warned the public not to fall victim to spam and phishing e-mails supposedly from the agency. This after the BOC received reports some brokers and traders had received spam or phishing e-mails allegedly sent by the agency. Phishing e-mails, made to look like official messages, trick recipients to click on a malicious link. The recipients’ personal information is then obtained and the fraudsters use it for their nefarious purposes. “The BOC strongly denies sending such e-mails and warns stakeholders to be extra cautious when they receive such e-mails,” the agency said in a statement. The BOC advised stakeholders to orient their employees on how to recognize phishing attacks, know phishing risks and how to address such issues. The agency also warned the public to be wary of e-mails that come from unrecognizable, unknown or unreliable sources, and to trust only websites with a lock icon or “https:” in its URL. Recipients should refrain from responding to e-mails demanding personal or financial information. To ensure an e-mail is legitimate, the BOC advised recipients to call the sender and verify the e-mail.

2016-07-17 05:56 Julie M technology.inquirer.net

34 34 Teachers’ reps seek probe of killing of lumad, tutors TWO PARTY-LIST lawmakers have asked President Duterte to look into the killing of a lumad leader and two teachers and the wounding of two others in Davao City and Cotabato City last week. ACT Teachers Representatives Antonio Tinio and France Castro said Mr. Duterte should call for an investigation into the killing of lumad school leader Hermie Alegre and the wounding of tribal chief Danny Diarog in Sitio Kahusayan, Davao City, at 2 p.m. on Friday. “Through underhanded ways, perpetrators kill and maim lumad leaders like Alegre and Diarog who stand with their people in their struggle for land and self-determination. By attacking their leaders, they aim to incapacitate our lumad brothers and sisters who only want to serve their communities and live according to their own ways, with their ancestral land and resources,” Tinio said in a statement. Alegre was an officer of the Parent-Teachers Association of the Salugpungan Ta’ Tanu Igkanugon (Unity in Defense of Ancestral Land) Community Learning Center in the sitio, while Diarog is the chieftain of the Bagobo tribe there. They were attacked on their way home from a meeting with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples by motorcycle-riding suspects. Castro said the attack would adversely impact the education of lumad children and their peaceful way of life. The attack was believed to have been aimed at sowing fear among the lumad, after the issuance of an arrest warrant by a Davao court for the “Haran 15,” who were accused of assisting hundreds of lumad evacuees fleeing from the military encamped in their communities two years ago. “Lumad school and community leaders being targeted by the military, paramilitaries and private armies mean that indigenous learning and the lumad way of life are also under attack,” Castro said. ACT also condemned the killing of two women teachers and the wounding of another in Cotabato City on Tuesday. Killed by suspects also on a motorcycle were Fahara Kabuntalan La, 29, and Sittie Usop Abdullah, 31. Aisah Karon Malugka, 34, was wounded. All three were teachers at Mokamad Ali Elementary School in Barangay Tamontaka 4. They were in a tricycle when they were fired upon, according to Chief Insp. Rustom Pastolero of Police Station 3. The tricycle driver, Fahad Abdulwahid Abdullah, 21, was also wounded in the gun attack that occurred in full public view but with the gunmen wearing ski masks, Pastolero said. “These teachers do not have known enemies,” Johnny Balawag, administrative officer of the public city schools division, told reporters. “The local authorities, both the local government unit and the Philippine National Police, should work hard and fast to determine the perpetrators of the incident,” Raymond Basilio, ACT secretary general, said.

2016-07-17 05:55 Gil Cabacungan newsinfo.inquirer.net

35 Quake deaths forgotten, but lessons remain BAGUIO CITY—Over a thousand people died on July 16 26 years ago when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake toppled houses and buildings in the summer capital. Families fled and investments disappeared as quickly as tourists. Judging by a low-key memorial on Saturday at a forest planted with “earthquake trees,” this generation of Baguio residents has forgotten that devastation. But officials insist the government bureaucracy has made sure it remembers—and learns from—the tragedy as the new century brought new towering buildings and a spike in migrants. Shortly after the quake, residents who stayed helped enact a new rebuilding plan, anchored on a conservative notion that the city’s building skyline should go no higher than four stories. Since 1999, however, the city building and architects’ office (CBAO) has issued 19,720 building permits. Some of the structures went as high as seven stories, towering over downtown Session Road and the fringes of the central business district. Retired city architect Joseph Alabanza, an urban planner, had advocated a policy that would bar high-rise buildings in downtown Baguio, primarily to decongest the city by redirecting investments to neighboring Benguet towns. In 2010, the city population grew to 318,676 people that had taxed resources like water and had worsened traffic jams, especially in the central business district. Many residents remain fearful about tall structures due to lingering fears about the quake. But engineer Felimar Calimlim, chief of CBAO’s engineering enforcement division, said lessons from the earthquake have improved city policy on constructions. He said regulations now require a more thorough inspection of lands before approving building permits. Lands that will hold buildings taller than three stories are required to undergo soil tests, he said. Bonifacio de la Peña, a professor of the Saint Louis University here, said the requirement for geotechnical evaluation would help the building owner “determine the type of foundation [that is mandated] for a proposed structure,” to guide his architects and engineers. But a former city administrator said Baguio needs to study if the mountain city is ready for tall buildings. Councilor Peter Fianza, who served as administrator under Mayor Braulio Yaranon, said he saw the value of building higher, not wider structures. He said Baguio has a total land area of 57 square kilometers, a third of which have been classified as inalienable government reservations. “If we limit the height of buildings too much, then we will end up occupying every space there is in the city,” he said. He said Baguio must still study the nature of earthquakes that are likely to strike the city in the future and the ground condition of sites for tall buildings. Kimberlie Quitasol, Inquirer Northern Luzon, and Danielle Uy

2016-07-17 05:54 Philippine Daily newsinfo.inquirer.net

36 36 ‘Poorer provinces to get equal share of pie in federal system’ THE DUTERTE administration is planning to group poor provinces with their more wealthy neighbors in dividing the Philippines under a proposed federal form of government. Incoming Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said this plan would address concerns raised by some lawmakers that shifting from a unitary presidential system to a federal form of government would be unfair to poor provinces or regions. A federal system refers to a two-tier government system which combines a central administration and autonomous regional or state governments, such as in the United States, Germany, Canada, Switzerland and India, among others. Regional governments would generate their own income. “On the fear that poor regions (i.e., Samar and Leyte) may suffer under federalism, we will assure the people that we have already devised a plan wherein poor provinces will be grouped with better performing ones in order to help them strive and attain a better performing region,” Alvarez said. Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. had previously warned that it would not be easy shifting to federalism because of the huge gaps in income and resources among provinces and regions. “What will happen to the places that are relatively poor at the moment and dependent on getting a share from the income of the rich regions?” Belmonte asked. While he did not give any details of President Duterte’s proposed redivision of the Philippines, Alvarez maintained that only federalism would allow the regions to realize their full economic potential as self-governing units and to reduce strife. Alvarez said that once a federal system of government was in place, there would be no need for a Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) because Muslim Mindanao would already have its own autonomous region coexisting with other autonomous regions. Alvarez has filed House Resolution No. 1 on the conduct of a constitutional convention (Con-con) to start the process of shifting to federalism. The Alvarez resolution would ban lawmakers and other public officials from being elected to the Con-con unless they quit their posts and have no political affiliations. It would require delegates to disclose their financial and business interests and notify the Con-con and Congress of potential conflicts of interest in matters under consideration.

2016-07-17 05:52 Gil Cabacungan newsinfo.inquirer.net

37 Asheville Skips the Chaos, National Attention By Leslee Kulba- July 2, at approximately 7:00 p.m., the Asheville Police Department responded to reported gunfire in Pisgah View. According to the press release from the police department, police followed the suspect as he fled in a vehicle to Deaverview. En route, a struggle between the alleged perpetrator and a female ensued. When the getaway car stopped, officers approached. The driver displayed a weapon and met a sad end. The suspect was later identified as Jai Lateef Solveig Williams, and the officer, who is now on leave, is Sergeant Tyler Radford, a patrol supervisor who has been with the department for eight years. The case is now being investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation and the police department’s Professional Standards Division. Nowadays, the scene unfolds like clockwork. Following a police shooting, news producers, praying to their god of ratings, play up white-on-black crime and anti-law-enforcement propaganda. So as not to appear insensitive and assure their associates they harbor no racism; the masses let the media yank their chain, and before long, everybody’s repeating talking points. It is not unusual for victims of race-baiting to congregate and anarchists to take the crowds as a trigger for looting and arson. Then, regardless of how contradictory the circumstances, President Obama gets on the TV calling for gun control. There was a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest downtown, but Police Chief Tammy Hooper wanted to set the record straight. While she could not say much while an investigation is underway, she did divulge the perpetrator’s weapon had been an AR-15, and that shell casings from it had been recovered in Pisgah View. The city promptly posted press releases, and a copy of the police department’s use-of-deadly-force policy, and requests for information from eye witnesses. There was no rioting downtown, and the incident didn’t even make it into the national news cycle. [ED NOTE: My compliments to the chief and other city staffers for effective damage control.] Fortunately for Asheville, but dreadfully all around, the homicide was overshadowed by the havoc wrecked on police officers by the Dallas sniper and police-involved homicides in Minnesota and Louisiana. As was to be expected, the president, though in Poland, delivered a statement. While it sounded like a scolding for gun owners, it was not as harsh as previous statements. He insinuated getting weapons out of the hands of law-abiding citizens would decrease the chances of them falling into the hands of the mentally ill. He furthermore charged the Dallas shooting was made more chaotic because of Texas’ liberal concealed carry laws. Following the Oregon shooting, Obama told America he was growing weary of the drill. “Somehow this has become routine. The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine. And what becomes routine is the response from those who oppose any sort of gun control legislation.” He then launched into once again lecturing Bible-thumping, gun- toting bitter clingers. “So the notion that gun violence is somehow different [from other threats to life]? That our freedom, and our Constitution, prohibits any modest regulation of how we use a deadly weapon, when there are law-abiding gun owners all across the country who could hunt and protect their families and do everything they could do under such regulations? Doesn’t make sense.” He recalled that following the Charleston massacre, he had said this country was, “one advanced nation on earth [without] commonsense gun safety measures. . .. And later that day there was a mass shooting in a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana. That day.” Said the president, “I’d like the American people to think how they can get our government to change these laws, and to save lives, and to let young people grow up. And that will require a change of politics on this issue.” He then essentially told listeners they should vote for candidates who support tighter gun control. In later lectures, while rightly claiming Americans should be concerned about “racial disparities in our criminal justice system;” he unabashedly suggested defenders of the Second Amendment were a “very intense minority” and “part of the problem,” and asked, “How can you, with a straight face, make the case that more guns will make us safer?” He faulted the NRA for supporting gun control and asked gun owners if their views “are properly being represented.

2016-07-17 03:50 By Leslee www.thetribunepapers.com

38 Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, budding wide receiver? Mallard Creek is looking to win its fourth straight state championship, and WR Ryan Jones figures to be a big part of the team. The 6-foot-2 UNC commit will have to adjust to a new quarterback and new role on the team in 2016. Isaac Johnson, a 6-foot-8 senior at Providence Day, landed several individual state titles at the state track meet. One of the titles he won was in the high jump. Marvin Ridge beats Topsail in decisive Game 3 for 2016 NC 3A baseball title. Marvin Ridge coach Mark Mennitt discusses difference between Game 1 loss and dominant Game 2 victory over Topsail in 3A baseball state title series. Charlotte Catholic defeats Hickory High 18-4 at Tuesday's third-round playoff match. Mission Prep senior Matthew Blaney showed off his hops and creativity on April 8, 2016 at Nipomo High School at the 26th Annual Kiwanis Central Coast All-Star Game. Blaney, a 6-foot-5 guard also boasts a 35-inch vertical leap, put home a windmill and off-the-backboard dunk in the halftime competition, his first-ever, before going off-the-wall. The Charlotte Catholic Cougars defeat Cary 49-46 to win the NCHSAA State Basketball Championship on Saturday at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC. Charlotte Catholic players celebrate after the Cougars won their first-ever high school state championship in basketball on Saturday night. Charlotte Catholic beat Cary 49-46 to win the school's first state championship in basketball. 2016-07-17 02:49 www.charlotteobserver.com

39 Gymnast Ashton Locklear on being an Olympic alternate SwimMac Carolina CEO/Director of Coaching David Marsh discusses swimmers need to have their best performance at the right moment. Four years ago, Duke student Abigail Johnston won a silver medal in synchronized diving at the 2012 London Games. Now, the medical student looks to earn another chance to compete in the Olympics, this time in the 3meter springboard event. The annual Cam Newton 7-on-7 high school football championship Saturday at Nation Ford High School. Video by Daniel Hud Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton runs a few routes with Hough High School and QB Jackson Gibbs at his 7-on-7 tournament in Fort Mill, S. C. Observer reporters Jim Morrill and Tim Funk discuss the upcoming DNC. The 1916 flood has been called the worst in North Carolina history and took out almost every bridge across the Catawba River. Two men rescued trapped workers and inspired family pride for generations. Observer political writers Jim Morrill and Tim Funk answer questions about the RNC and DNC. Miles Leathers, a Brevard College graduate, will continue playing basketball as a member of the USA Select basketball team. Watch the former East Meck star score the game-winning basket against Newberry in his final college game Feb. 27 - an 84-82 win on his senior day at Brevard - his final college game and play. Four teens join voices and instruments to launch Who Carez band.

2016-07-17 02:49 www.charlotteobserver.com

40 40 Ohio GOP Delegation Snubbed For Prime Host State Seating CLEVELAND, Ohio — So much for host state favoritism. Ohio’s state delegation will not be seated in the front row at the Republican convention at the Quicken Loans Center this coming week. Instead, the Buckeye State delegates will be seated in the second row from the podium, to the stage’s left wing, behind the Pennsylvania delegation. State delegations with front row seating are New York, New Jersey, California, Connecticut, Alabama and Pennsylvania. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and California are in the prime center areas of the stage. Where is the massive Texas delegation? Toward the back of the convention floor with Wyoming, Kansas, Colorado, Puerto Rico, Delaware and Maine. 2016 RNC State Delegation Seating Arrangements The Utah delegation is far up on the other side of the convention floor with Guam, Nebraska, Virginia, Arizona, Washington State, Michigan, and Minnesota. According to officials, 56 delegations will be seated at the convention. “Conventions are a time that bring our party together in one space to reaffirm what we believe in and look to what the future will bring,” said convention CEO Jeff Larson in a statement. “Regardless of our home state and background, we come together as one body to select our nominee for President of the United States.” Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich, who refuses to endorse Donald Trump for the GOP nomination, is expected to be largely a no-show at the convention other than one reception on Tuesday at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. BREAKING: Ohio GOP delegation denied traditional front row seats at home-state convention; instead, they go to blue states CA, Trump's NY — Darrel Rowland (@darreldrowland) July 16, 2016 Follow Kerry on Twitter

2016-07-17 02:47 dailycaller.com

41 Turkey Warns America: Hand Over Exiled Cleric OR ELSE Turkey’s president and its prime minister issued thinly- veiled threats to the U. S. on Saturday if it does not extradite an Islamic cleric living in the mountains of Pennsylvania. “Any country that protects Fethullah Gulen will be an enemy to Turkey,” Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday, naming the imam who Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asserts is the mastermind behind Friday’s failed coup. “This is not a country that can be run from Pennsylvania,” Erdoğan said in reference to Gulen as the attempted overthrow was still underway. “Dear Mr. President: I told you this before,” Erdoğan said in a direct address to Obama later on Saturday. “Either arrest Fethullah Gulen or return him to Turkey. You didn’t listen. I call on you again, after there was a coup attempt, extradite this man in Pennsylvania to Turkey. If we are strategic partners or model partners, do what is necessary.” Gulen, who has lived in self-exile in the Pocono Mountains since 1999, told reporters after those threats that Erdoğan himself could be behind the coup. “There is a slight chance, there is a possibility that it could be a staged coup,” the preacher told reporters through a translator, Reuters reported . “It could be meant for court accusations and associations,” he added, while criticizing Erdoğan as having “no tolerance for any movement, any group, any organization that is not under their total control.” On Friday, Gulen said he condemned the coup attempt “in the strongest terms.” “Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force,” he said in a statement issued through Alliance for Shared Values, a New York-based non-profit operated by Y. Alp Aslandogan, a top Gulen acolyte. (RELATED: Exiled Cleric Blamed For Masterminding Turkish Coup Is Denying Involvement) Secretary of State John Kerry appeared to take the threat from its NATO ally seriously. Speaking to reporters from Luxembourg on Saturday he said that the U. S. “would invite the government of Turkey, as we always do, to present us with legitimate evidence that withstands scrutiny.” “And the United States will accept that and look at it and make judgments about it appropriately.” He added that the U. S. has not received “any request with respect to Mr. Gulen.” “We fully anticipate that there will be questions raised about Mr. Gulen,” he said, according to the Associated Press. Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen is pictured at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania in 2013. (REUTERS) Gulen and Erdoğan were allies, at least publicly, until 2013. That’s when Erdoğan, who was prime minister at the time, broke with the cleric and blamed him for orchestrating corruption investigations targeting him and his allies. Shortly after Erdoğan was elected president in 2014, he reportedly asked President Obama to extradite Gulen. Followers of the cleric and his movement, called Hizmet, fill out many of Turkey’s institutions, including the media, judiciary and police force. Erdoğan regularly blames Hizmet, which he calls the “parallel structure,” for undermining his regime. The Islamist leader has cracked down on Gulenists and targeted media companies and other businesses with links to Gulen. There is no public evidence yet that Gulen or his followers were behind the coup, which left around 250 soldiers, police and civilians dead. Thousands of members of the Turkish military were arrested, as were members of the police force and judiciary. Kerry, President Obama, and Hillary Clinton all offered support for Erdoğan’s government and denounced the uprising. Links to Gulen could come to haunt Clinton should she become president. As The Daily Caller has reportedly recently, top U. S. Gulenists have donated heavily to Clinton’s campaigns over the years and to her family charity, the Clinton Foundation. One of those donors, Gokhan Ozkok, even emailed Clinton’s top aide, Huma Abedin, in 2009 to ask for a favor from Clinton. (RELATED: New Ties Emerge Between Clinton And Mysterious Islamic Cleric) Ozkok asked Abedin to have Clinton, then secretary of state, to direct President Obama to meet in Turkey with Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, who at the time served as Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Ihsanoglu lost to Erdoğan in the 2014 presidential election. Obama did meet with Ihsanoglu in Turkey and invited him to a White House meeting later that year. Ozkok and another top Gulenist, Recep Ozkan, served as national finance co-chairs for Clinton’s political action committee, Ready PAC. Ozkan, who has served as president of the Turkish Cultural Center, also donated between $500,000 and $1 million to the Clinton Foundation last year. The Alliance for Shared Values, the group which issued Gulen’s recent statement, also recently hired the Podesta Group to lobby on its behalf. The Podesta Group was co-founded by Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta. In addition to targeting Gulen and Gulenists from inside Turkey, Erdoğan has sought to discredit the cleric here in the U. S. His government has contracted the lobbying firm Amsterdam & Partners to issue press releases, conduct research, and file legal complaints against Gulen’s network of 150-plus charter schools. Some of those accusations against the charter school network predate that lobbying effort. In 2012, “60 Minutes” ran an expose citing whistle-blowers who claimed that the schools took advantage of the U. S. visa system by hiring Turkish teachers so that they could get visas. Many of those teachers were not equipped for the job. Some claimed that they were forced to give a large portion of their salary back to the schools, which are often attached to non-profits operated by top U. S.-based Gulenists. In 2011, The New York Times reported that contractors controlled by Turkish businessmen tied to Hizmet were awarded contracts for work on the taxpayer-funded Gulen charter schools. Alsandogan, the executive director of the Alliance for Shared Values, was named in that article. He was tied to Harmony Public Schools, a Texas- based charter school chain. Alsanodgon operated the Texas Gulf Foundation, which controlled some contracts for work on the charter schools. Robert Amsterdam, the lawyer who runs Amsterdam & Partners, told the Associated Press that “there are indications of direct involvement” by Gulen in the coup attempt. Turkish intelligence services have said that “there are signs that Gulen is working closely with certain members of military leadership against the elected civilian government,” Amsterdam added. This article has been updated with comments from Erdoğan. Follow Chuck on Twitter

2016-07-17 02:47 dailycaller.com

42 DC Schools Have More Students Enrolled Than Live There District of Columbia public and charter elementary schools have more students attending classes than the federal city’s entire population of such school- aged kids, indicating a fraud rate of at least 11 percent. Mathematically, that is the minimum portion of elementary schoolers who must be non-D. C. residents, but whose parents are freeloading off taxpayers to take advantage of the District of Columbia Public Schools’ extended hours, after-school care and proximity to employers. The District’s public and taxpayer-funded charter schools had 36,785 students in kindergarten through 5th grade in 2014 — slightly more than the city’s population aged five to 10, which was estimated by the U. S. Census Bureau at 36,770. The gap of 15 students could be explained by the Census estimate’s margin of error or through special cases — except for the fact not every child in D. C. attends its public schools is considered. Children from wealthy D. C. families often go to private schools, for example. The Census Bureau estimated that 4,139 children aged five to nine were in private schools in 2014 — meaning that in those six grades alone, the public school system had 4,154 more students enrolled than the total population of those that age. The discrepancy is understated by those figures because they don’t include the District’s home-schooled students, or 10-year-olds in private school, since the Census Bureau’s private school estimate doesn’t break out that age group. The figures conjure the old jokes about voter fraud in which a candidate receives more than 100 percent of the vote. They indicate that more than 11 percent of the K-5 population likely is from out of state. The school system spends $30,000 per kid annually, meaning those 4,154 cheaters alone cost $125 million per year. D. C. offers fifteen years of education, so if the fraud rate is similar in other grades, the cost would be a third of a billion dollars per year. Federal taxpayers have a stake in the problem, too, because the central government’s annual per capita spending on D. C. is more than $16,000, compared to Alaska, which receives the second-highest amount of nearly $5,000, according to the Census Bureau. Education programs make up 11 percent of all federal aid to state and local governments, but the District’s overall spending figure is higher because it is the nation’s capital. There were 30,667 kids in K-5 in D. C. public and charter schools in 2010. The Census’ exact count found 31,173 kids aged five to 10 living at city homes. The number of students in public schools was only 506 less than the number of kids in the city. Yet the Census that year has 4,542 kids aged five to nine in private schools (the Census provides that figure as an estimate with a margin of error of 1,391, since school questions are only asked of some respondents). So there were 4,036 more kids in D. C. public elementary schools than there were available D. C. residents. In other words, the elementary schools (not counting pre-K) were 13 percent bigger than they should have been in the absence of fraud or other strange circumstances. (As with 2014, the discrepancy is actually larger since the private school stat doesn’t include 10-year-olds or home schoolers.) Spokesmen for the D. C. schools superintendent and the school system offered no explanation for the major discrepancy in the bottom-line enrollment numbers. Eligibility for D. C. schools is based on a simple criteria: The child must be a D. C. resident. The Census’ methodology is instructive because it is based on who lives at a specific address. Census staff sends mail and makes personal visits to every household, and would count Maryland kids at the location where they sleep. TheDCNF reported in a two-week series earlier in July the extent to which children of Maryland residents are taking slots at taxpayer-funded D. C. schools with waiting lists hundreds of names long. (The series’ installments are listed at the bottom of this article.) One of the most-read stories in the series was based on a confession by a former PTA board member; another mother and member of a local public charter school board of trustees denied living in Maryland despite four days of video surveillance showing otherwise. Cheaters, who the series found are often middle- to upper-middle-class government employees, sometimes claim that aunts, grandparents or friends periodically help “raise” the kid, or that that the whole family occasionally “stays” somewhere in D. C. despite having a home in Maryland. They use the terms in vague ways that obscure the reality that not only is the child not the legal dependent of those other relatives, but he doesn’t live at a D. C. address. The discrepancy between the Census Bureau and school enrollment figures also may understate the fraud rate because it doesn’t look at 3- and 4-year- olds — even though a primary driver of fraud is D. C.’s offering of free pre- K. This attracts fraudsters whose local school systems don’t offer free pre-K and who are seeking to avoid paying $20,000 a year for private daycare. School officials could use computer databases to check eligibility when enrolling students, utilizing computer programs that link with the city’s tax office to see if the child is claimed as a dependent by someone paying taxes to the city or filing annual taxes to collect the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The EITC is a refundable tax credit to individuals and couples based on their income and the number of children they claim. Low-income children are also likely to be in city databases showing government aid. Follow Luke 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].

2016-07-17 02:47 dailycaller.com

43 43 Sexy Trump Supporter Natalie Gulbis Pictures Natalie Gulbis is one of the best golfers in the world and she wants Donald Trump to be the next president of the United States. Check out all the photos of the blonde bombshell that will also be speaking at the convention. (SLIDESHOW: UFC Star Arianny Celeste Is Nearly Naked For All Her Fans In These Pictures) Follow David on Twitter and Facebook

2016-07-17 02:47 dailycaller.com

44 Obama Vindicates 8 Years Of Foreign Policy Critics Two recent foreign policy announcements from the White House signal possible vindication for critics of current Middle East policy. First, on July 6, President Barack Obama announced he would keep 8,400 troops in Afghanistan past the end of his presidency. Then, he announced on July 11 that he would send 560 additional troops to Iraq, adopting a strategy of U. S. engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan his critics have been advocating since he took office in 2008. “This period of unprecedented chaos coincides with a period of unprecedented U. S. disengagement in the region,” former U. S. Ambassador to Iraq and Afghanistan Ryan Crocker told Ozy on June 23. Obama entered office in 2008 hellbent on ending U. S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for a time it seemed he would succeed. In 2010, despite resounding calls to the contrary , Obama did not push the Iraqi government to extend the U. S. status of forces agreement and precipitously withdrew all U. S. troops from Iraq. In Afghanistan, Obama surged troops to 165,000 and imposed an artificial deadline for withdrawal of surge forces 18 months later. Obama’s senior advisors, including General Petraeus, told him the withdrawal announcement concurrent with the surge announcement would neuter the surge’s purpose, but he proceeded anyways. The surge was largely ineffective and the Taliban merely waited out the U. S. 18 month deadline. Obama pivoted away from active U. S. engagement in Afghanistan towards a reduced presence that focused on drone strikes. The pivot ultimately ended the U. S. combat mission in Afghanistan and reduced troops to less than 1,000 inside the U. S. embassy. In Iraq, exactly what his critics said would happen ended up happening. The U. S. forces in Iraq were the only honest broker between sectarian forces and the U. S.-backed Iraqi government. The Iraqi government, purged the Iraqi Security Forces of Sunni leadership. The purge had the dual effect of removing capable military commanders and inflaming sectarian tensions with the large Sunni population in Anbar province. Inflamed sectarian tensions made Anbar province, previously inhospitable to Al Qaeda in Iraq, a sanctuary for the then-defeated terrorist organization. The terrorist group in question decided to rebrand itself “The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria,” or “ISIS.” When ISIS stormed into the city of Mosul in 2014, Iraqi Security Forces crumbled under a force one-tenth of their size. ISIS still holds the city of Mosul, and controls vast swaths of territory throughout Syria. The terrorist group inspired a global jihadist movement that kills thousands across the globe. Characterizing the situation, Crocker said, “The space that we were working in was taken over by Islamic State on the one hand, and by the Iranians and their proxy militias on the other.” In Afghanistan, a similar situation played out in the backdrop of Obama’s drawdown policy. Obama ended the U. S. combat mission in Afghanistan and gave half-hearted support to the Afghan Security Forces in the fight against the Taliban. Since Obama’s decision, the Taliban is making unprecedented gains across Afghanistan, wiping out 14 years of U. S. accomplishments in the region. The end of U. S. engagement also allowed ISIS and Al Qaeda to establish deep footholds in Afghanistan, footholds the CIA assesses as a serious threat to the U. S. homeland. The ensuing situation prompted Obama to loosen the rules of engagement against the Taliban. Many believe that an enduring presence in Afghanistan for years to come more likely, following these actions. At his announcement to extend America’s presence in Afghanistan, President Obama made a conditional promise of withdrawal – offering total drawdown of U. S. forces in exchange for a peace deal between the Taliban and the U. S.-backed Afghan government. The Institute for the Study of War noted on July 14, “A peace agreement is unlikely, however, as militants have steadily regained territory since the bulk of U. S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan beginning in 2011.” Follow Saagar Enjeti 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].

2016-07-17 02:47 dailycaller.com

45 Bernie Delegates Unsatisfied With Potential Hillary VP Picks Bernie Sanders delegates believe that a number of high-profile names being mentioned as options for Hillary Clinton’s running mate are unacceptable, and if she picks one of them, those delegates are be ready to protest the pick in Philadelphia at the Democratic National Convention in less than two weeks. According to a survey of Sanders delegates conducted by the Bernie Delegates Network, the numbers show “big concerns about Hillary Clinton’s pending choice of a vice presidential candidate.” A number of Sanders delegates may be willing to “publicly denounce prospective running-mates and even protest on the convention floor,” a statement from the network said. Sanders endorsed Clinton last week, but not all his voters are enthused by Clinton. The Bernie Delegates Network is an initiative launched by RootsAction.org in partnership with Progressive Democrats of America. More than 250 Sanders delegates participated in the survey via email over the last two days, before the survey was released Saturday. When asked by surveyors how important Clinton’s vice presidential choice would be to them, 70.6 percent said “very important” or “important.” An additional 13.2 percent said “somewhat important.” Sanders delegates were asked to respond with “Acceptable,” “Not Acceptable,” or “Unsure” in relation to six potential Clinton running mates. The results on each person came out as follows: SEN. TIM KAINE: Acceptable — 2.7 percent Not Acceptable — 88.5 percent Unsure — 8.8 percent HUD SEC. JULIAN CASTRO: Acceptable — 8.0 percent Not Acceptable — 79.8 percent Unsure — 12.2 percent SEN. MARK WARNER: Acceptable — 1.9 percent Not Acceptable — 91.6 percent Unsure — 6.5 percent SEN. CORY BOOKER: Acceptable — 11.1 percent Not Acceptable — 72.8 percent Unsure — 16.1 percent ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS: Acceptable — 1.5 percent Not Acceptable — 88.5 percent Unsure — 10.0 percent ADM. MIKE MULLEN: Acceptable — 2.3 percent Not Acceptable — 88.5 percent Unsure — 12.2 percent According to the online poll, a “vast majority” of surveyed delegates said that if Clinton picks someone they don’t like, they would “seriously consider … denouncing the VP pick” or “nonviolently and emphatically protesting in the convention hall during Clinton’s acceptance speech.” “We have every reason to believe that the lopsided numbers from this survey indicate it would be a risky proposition for Clinton to choose a running-mate who is supportive of corporate-friendly trade deals and cozy with Wall Street,” Norman Solomon, national coordinator of the Bernie Delegates Network and a Sanders delegate, said. Follow Kerry on Twitter

2016-07-17 02:47 dailycaller.com

46 The Daily Caller Today, understandably, most of the news is focusing on the terrorist attack that happened last night in Nice. BuzzFeed has a solid feed, continuously updating with material from their reporters on the ground: find it here. HuffPost is running about seven million different stories on their home page , all of which will probably have changed three times each when this article gets published… but they seem to have capable, comprehensive coverage. Politico is running with the big Trump-Pence ticket announcement as their main headline. Their media guru Joe Pompeo ran the media newsletter with the opening line telling us that he wasn’t going to provide a “media angle” on the Nice story, which is good and I admire his restraint. The Hill ‘s main story is Congress publishing 28 pages of the 9/11 report that had previously been redacted. Interesting choice for a front page. If Friday wasn’t so inundated with other huge stories, would this be massive news? The Daily Beast is reporting that “as early as 2010, U. S. officials were warning that jihadis might use vehicles as quick-and-dirty weapons of destruction.” While that’s a convenient way to blame the U. S. for an attack against Europeans in France, it’s also hard to say what the U. S. could have done differently here – ban trucks?! Swing and a miss. For some nice news…. Greta Van Susteren retweeted this funny feline: Cats are so mysterious 2016-07-17 02:47 dailycaller.com

47 Pollution From Humanity Has Kept Tropical Cyclones At Bay New research published in the journal Science shows that human pollution known as aerosols actually have a role in the low number of tropical cyclones globally. Aerosols are airborne particles that hold a small amount of solid matter and can come from natural sources, like volcanoes, but they also come from human activity like burning wood and use of fossil fuels. The notion was that as the Earth warms, tropical cyclones (also known as hurricanes) would increase. But the number of hurricanes has actually been decreasing, thanks at least in some part to humanity’s aerosol pollution, according to a press release republished on Watts Up With That Friday. Aerosols act as a mirror, reflecting sunlight back into space and therefore have a cooling effect. As greenhouse emissions continue to rise and the temperature of Earth along with it, it was expected that more hurricanes would be the norm. But aerosols are able to effectively temper the warming and keep hurricane activity low. Other sources of aerosol pollution come from the ocean, windblown dust and volcanic eruptions, according to a report by the University of Wyoming . The saturation of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere recently passed 400 parts per million for the first time in 4 million years, according to Climate Central. Despite the growing accumulation of the greenhouse gas, Earth has been spared the resulting projected increase in hurricanes. In the U. S., hurricane activity is the lowest in recorded history. CNS News reported in October 2015, using data from NOAA, that no major hurricane has made landfall in the U. S. since Hurricane Wilma hit Florida in 2005. The 10-year lull in hurricane activity is the longest such streak since records began in 1851. The same goes for the rest of the planet as well. Data compiled from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) uses something known as Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) to determine the intensity of combined tropical systems. The global ACE in 2012 was 129, while in 2015 it was 63. NOAA says the average ACE is 95. However, current efforts to curb emissions with things like cleaner burning engines and fuels, as well as filters on industrial sources of pollution, started to decrease the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere. Meaning its reflective properties are also decreasing. With less reflection of the suns energy back into space, that could be a harbinger that the hurricane lull is running out of time. Follow Craig Boudreau on Twitter . Send tips to craig@ dailycallernewsfoundation.org . 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].

2016-07-17 02:47 dailycaller.com

48 Hillary’s Emails So Top Secret That Congress Can’t See Them Lest you think that the Republicans in Congress investigating Hillary Clinton’s email malfeasance do so frivolously, this testimony by Charles McCullough, Intelligence Community Inspector General will dissuade you of that notion. Watch and be horrified. Jason Chaffetz asks Mr. McCullough whether he can release the classified information. He says that he can with some but with others,”the agency associated has limited distribution on those.” He is then asked to name the agency and can’t because the agency itself is too top-secret. He is asked to specify generally the kind of intelligence and he can’t do that either or risk the nation’s security. Chafetz then says, “I don’t want to violate that, but the concern is that it’s already been violated…and it was violated by Hillary Clinton. It was her choice. She set it up and she created this problem and she created this mess. We shouldn’t have to go through this but she did that.” He shakes his head in disgust. McCullough then makes this damning statement: This is the segment of emails that … I had to have people in my office read in to particular programs to even see these emails. We didn’t possess the required clearances and compartments.. Chaffetz says,”So even the Inspector General for ODNI didn’t have the requisite security clearances.”

2016-07-17 02:47 Melissa Clouthier spectator.org

49 How the U. S. Tried—and Failed—to Oust Netanyahu A Senate report — in spite of itself — tells all. It turns out that back in 2013 the State Department donated $350,000 to an NGO called OneVoice. The supposed aim was to enable OneVoice’s Israeli and Palestinian branches “to support peace negotiations.” Since that was not a partisan political aim, the State Department’s funding of the NGO was seemingly kosher. But things — as detailed in a report released Tuesday by a bipartisan Senate subcommittee — got tricky. The State Department authorized OneVoice to use the grant for a 14-month period ending in November 2014. OneVoice, as noted by the Times of Israel, used the funds to create an “organizational infrastructure” — and then, when the 14 months expired, handed over that organizational infrastructure to another Israeli group, known as V15, that was partisan with a vengeance. The V in V15 stands for victory. It so happened that, in December 2014, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the Knesset to dissolve itself, which it did, and new elections were held in March 2015. V15’s aim was, pure and simple, to defeat Netanyahu and replace him with a center-left candidate; their slogan was “Anyone but Bibi.” As the report by the subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs describes it: But it goes beyond that. It turns out OneVoice told the State Department in advance that it was planning a “pivot to electoral politics.” But the U. S. official who received the email with that information — Consul General in Jerusalem Michael Ratney — claimed he never opened it. As the Senate report states: “Mr. Ratney told the subcommittee that he remembered the email but is ‘quite sure’ he did not read the attachment, nor did he respond to it.” As Ratney explicated: “At times I deleted emails with attachments I didn’t need in order to maintain my inbox under the storage limit.” If it sounds fishy, it gets fishier. The subcommittee report says the State Department should have taken note of the fact that in the previous Israeli elections, early in 2013, OneVoice had already engaged in partisan political activity — of course, in the anti-Netanyahu camp. But did that fact really slip the State Department’s attention? The subcommittee report does not charge the State Department with illegality in funding OneVoice. Politico notes that one of the report’s coauthors, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), The other coauthor, Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio), had stronger words: And yet, considering the administration’s antipathy toward Netanyahu, and wholehearted endorsement of the quasi-religious belief — shared by the Israeli left and much of the international community — that his replacement by a center-left leader would usher in an age of peace, is it plausible that the State Department is merely guilty of “deficiencies,” “ignor[ing] warning signs,” failing to open emails, and the like? In short, it isn’t. Soon after Israel’s March 2015 election, as the Times of Israel notes: The Senate report — despite its mincing, circumspect language — bears out what was already known in Israel at the time. Of course, the attempt to oust Netanyahu failed as he was reelected in a landslide. These days, as he signs a reconciliation agreement with Turkey, forges new ties with African countries, and develops relations with Egypt and other Arab countries, Netanyahu should seemingly be a hero of aficionados of harmony between nations. But, for many, he’s too precious a hate-figure for that.

2016-07-17 02:47 P. spectator.org

50 Newt’s Proposed Sharia Test for All American Muslims is Un-American UPDATE Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told Sean Hannity following the Bastille Day terrorist attack in Nice: Let me be as blunt and direct as I can be. Western civilization is in a war. We should frankly test every person here who is of a Muslim background, and if they believe in Sharia, they should be deported. I don’t disagree with Newt Gingrich when he says Western Civilization is at war. I also agree that Western Civilization and Sharia law are incompatible. There is also no question that a critical mass of Muslims (including some in the United States) want to destroy Western Civilization and replace it with Sharia law. But what Gingrich is proposing is immoral in principle and unworkable in practice. It is also fundamentally un-American. The former House Speaker’s proposal amounts to collective punishment and alienates American Muslims who have no quarrel with this country. It arbitrarily and automatically turns law abiding American Muslims into suspects. While there are circumstances where it is warranted for us to monitor mosques and madrassas as well as social media for jihadist activity, to subject all American Muslims to such a policy effectively questions their loyalty without just cause. Such a plan would cost billions of dollars on top of the billions spent enforcing a Muslim immigration and travel ban should Trump be elected this November. Enormous resources would be wasted in the course of carrying out this policy without stopping a single terrorist attack. It is a policy proposed as impractical as expanding background checks which would have not stopped a mass shooting. And how exactly do you deport Muslims born and raised in this country and know no other home? Where would we send them? If we’re unprepared to accept Syrian refugees then how can we count on Muslim countries to accept our deportees? Newt Gingrich is an ideas man. Some of them are good, but a lot of them are just stupid. This one ranks up there with his proposal to colonize The Moon. Quite frankly, his proposal to test the loyalty of every American Muslim is utter lunacy. UPDATE: During a Facebook Live session today, Gingrich admitted it was impossible to deport a Muslim who is an American citizen. No kidding.

2016-07-17 02:47 Aaron Goldstein spectator.org

51 The American Spectator Ha! I bet you wonder why you haven’t heard from me for a while. It’s because I have been sick. I’m sick of athletes who are paid millions of dollars per month to run up and down a wooden court and throw a ball blasting, slandering, sliming police officers who get paid in a year what the athletes get paid for a few minutes. The athletes are superbly well trained and skillful and their performances sell a lot or cars and soap. And beer. But the athletes who get paid tens of millions of dollars a year don’t leave their kids behind with their wives going off into a combat zone the way the police do. The athletes are wildly famous but they don’t put their lives on the line the way the police do every time they pull over a speeder or approach a man who refuses to show his hands. That’s it. That’s what I’m sick with: the viral insanity of these men who live in gigantic mansions libeling the police officers who risk their lives to patrol the black community based on incidents in which it’s already been well established that the officers acted reasonably and lawfully. I have been sick, still am sick, at the idea that the thin blue line who stand between decent people and murderers and rapists and thugs gets slandered by the Beautiful People in sports and Hollywood and politics and the media while the slanderers eat their caviar and ride in their Bentleys and pretend to be brave fighters for social justice. I have news for you, gentlemen. There is only one group consistently offering up their lives for social justice and decency — and they are called the POLICE. I have been sick to death that when our President, Mr. Obama, spoke at a memorial for five police officers murdered by a black psychopathic racist, the President of all of the people spent far more time trying to justify the murders than to eulogize the slain. Mr. Obama kept insisting it was all about racism. And Mr. Obama was right: It was all about the racism of a creature sick with evil who was jacked out of his mind by miscreants who simply make up “facts” of a white racist assault on black America. I am sick that these people, who go by names like Black Lives Matter and the New Black Panthers, completely ignore the truths about how so many young blacks die at each other’s hands and how few die from police bullets even once a confrontation has begun. I am sick that the prestige media lets these liars get away with it. I am sick that a movement that was once based with dignity on allowing grown men and women to be able to vote has devolved into a movement to allow drunken sailors to urinate in a bathroom next to my five-year-old granddaughter — and the President of the United States is so foolish that he actually believes this is a meaningful cause. I am down with a fever that the President ignores the murder with knives of Israeli children by Arab terrorists but calls the leader of the only democracy in the Middle East a ‘chickens–t’ — especially when that leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, is the bravest head of government of any nation in the last hundred years, with more combat heroism than Mr. Obama could even read about. The world has gone crazy. Just plain crazy. We have a mass murderer killing the innocent in Orlando, calling 9-1-1 to say he’s acting as an agent of the Islamic State — and the President says we don’t know his motives. We have the racist police killer in Dallas killing the police who protect the blacks at will and the next day the streets are choked with college students and bums attacking the police. And no one calls this insane. I will. It’s insane. All right. No, it’s not all right. We have a political party whose leaders and cadres literally scream with frenzied delight at the thought of mothers killing their own children — while at the same time piously denouncing the manufacturers of guns. The toll from semi-automatic rifles is about one hundredth of one percent the toll from abortions. And this is something for women to scream about with ecstasy. And meanwhile, up here in North Idaho, the skies are blue. The clouds are fleecy white. The water tonight when I went to dinner over in Hope was like a mill pond. No craziness here. Just wooden ships on the water, very free, as the song goes. But once you leave this enchanted kingdom, it’s the jungle damned quick. And I start to feel sick. But then I am not terribly important. Al Sharpton, now he’s important. Mr. Obama, he’s important. God help us.

2016-07-17 02:47 Ben Stein spectator.org

52 Class action lawsuit seeks to curtail aggressive student debt collectors — RT America Balboa Student Loan Trust, the company that bought the student debt, does not care what the Education Department says about the student debts it owns. In fact, a class action lawsuit has been filed accusing the company of harassing students to get their money by calling them as often as five times a day, BuzzFeed reported. In April 2015, the US Department of Education fined Corinthian Colleges $30 million for misrepresenting their job replacement rates. Even prior to that, Corinthian Colleges had been on thin ice when the department required Corinthian to sell the schools or close all of its programs. This led to the program declaring bankruptcy later that month. Another troublesome tactic that colleges under the Corinthian group used was a private student loan program called Genesis. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that Genesis loans were a scam, saying, “ more than 60 percent of Corinthian school students defaulted on these high-cost loans within three years,” Bloomberg News reported. Genesis loans were owned by a third-party debt buyer who stocked up on student debt by paying pennies to the dollar for them. The company that purchased these loans is Balboa Student Loan Trust. As part of the deal, they pledged to forgive 40 percent of the debt and refrain from suing or threatening students who didn’t pay it off. The debt collector hounding Deborah Terrell must not have received the memo. “ I got calls that they were going to take my house away, " Terrell said in a video produced by her lawyers. " I got calls that they were going to do a garnishment on my wages. " Terrell is a named plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against the debt collectors. Anne Richardson, a lawyer with Public Counsel, one of three law firms that filed the suit, told KPCC: “ They’re violating a prior arrangement that was made with the federal government. ” In addition, the lawsuits states that the Corinthian colleges intentionally targeted low-income individuals with the intention of making them take out loans that they would be unable to pay back. “ The folks that we’re talking about are living on minimum wage jobs, single mothers, ” Richardson told KPCC. “ The whole reason they went to these schools is that they wanted to try to escape the cycle of the working poor, ” she added. Balboa is owned by Turnstile Capital Management, a company also named in the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that by the time Turnstile purchased the student debt, they were aware that the debt had been procured by using fraud. “ These private lenders are victimizing these students a second time by continuing to try and collect on debt that was incurred through fraud and deceit, ” Richardson told BuzzFeed. Meanwhile, Corinthian Colleges – now the Zenith Education Group – has lost its accreditation with the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). In California, that means the schools have until 2020 to continue operating without accreditation. A quick glance at the Everest College on Los Angeles’ Yelp page confirms that students did feel that they were misled. One review from 2015 reads, “ Admissions Rep, Teo, Gave false information while giving information about their medical assisting program to attract more interest in the program. ” Another one claims, “ I paid $10,000 to enroll with students and teachers who made the program undesirable. Fights would break out in classrooms, drugs were being used, and one time the teacher even walked out. ”

2016-07-17 02:47 www.rt.com

53 MLB Baseball Box Scores NEW YORK -- Steven Wright described his inability to make a play on Alex Rodriguez's fifth-inning slow grounder near the mound as "do or die". The same description can be used for how the sixth unfolded for the knuckleballer. Wright retired the first 14 hitters and gave up all three runs in the sixth but escaped trouble as the Boston Red Sox began the second half with a 5-3 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday night. Entering his final inning, Wright (11-5) had a one-hitter and a five-run lead. The one hit was a ball that would have been an out if it traveled in a different direction towards Wright. Wright retired the first 14 hitters on 51 pitches before facing Rodriguez a second time. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Rodriguez hit a weak grounder to the left of the mound. Wright ran off the mound, tried to make a barehanded play but was unable to grip the ball and make the throw. "I thought if I maybe barehanded maybe I'd be able to make a play," Wright said. "I didn't know. It was kind of do or die. "An inning later, Wright began losing some of his rhythm. He allowed a single to Starlin Castro and loaded the bases by hitting Chase Headley with a pitch and walking Jacoby Ellsbury. Wright lost his shutout when Carlos Beltran singled down the right field line past diving Red Sox first baseman Hanley. He then surrendered a third run on Brian McCann's force out, but escaped the jam quickly as Mark Teixeira popped out to the left side of the infield on the next pitch. "As he's done when he's had some trouble in some ballgames, he bends but he doesn't break," Boston manager John Farrell said. "That was the case again here tonight. ""I thought we had some good swings, good approaches," Rodriguez said. "That one inning we scored three runs, but with a guy like that, you're probably going to get one crack at him and tonight, we just had one. "Wright had some breathing room in the sixth because the Red Sox had hit three home runs off Yankee right-hander Michael Pineda (3-9). Ryan Hanigan hit a solo home run in the third while Travis Shaw and Xander Bogaerts slugged long two-run shots in the fifth and sixth. "The ball was moving, it was dancing around," Hanigan said. " (Wright) was throwing a lot of strikes, really in command there. Obviously a little rough spot in the sixth. ... But overall I thought he was real solid. "Wright improved to 4-1 with a 1.91 ERA in five career appearances against New York. He is 4-0 at Yankee Stadium, including a win in Boston's 19-inning victory here April 11, 2015. "He pitched well," Beltran said. "He's a guy that has a violent knuckleball. Normally they get around 65 to 70 miles per hour and he's a guy that can go all the way to 77, 78. He was able to mix the knucklers in and we couldn't do much. "The Yankees also couldn't do much against Boston's bullpen trio of Brad Ziegler, Robbie Ross Jr. and Koji Uehera. Ziegler needed seven pitches in a scoreless seventh, Ross stranded the leadoff runner at first in the eighth and Uehara recorded his fifth save by retiring Rodriguez for the final out. "You feel that you have three more innings and a good shot to score more runs," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We've been coming from behind lately, and had some rallies late, and you figure it might happen in the 8th;While the Red Sox (50-38) won for the eighth time in 10 games, the Yankees were unable to get over.500 (44-45) and fell 8 1/2 games behind the first-place Baltimore Orioles. Pineda was lifted after allowing the home run to Bogaerts. He allowed five runs and five hits after retiring the first eight hitters. NOTES: New York DH Alex Rodriguez fielded ground balls at first base Friday. Manager Joe Girardi did not commit to saying when and if Rodriguez would appear there in a game. ... Newly acquired LHP Drew Pomeranz is slated to make his debut for the Red Sox Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants. Pomeranz spoke with manager John Farrell late Thursday, is slated to arrive Saturday and throw his first bullpen session for the Red Sox on Sunday. ... Girardi said RHP Nathan Eovaldi will start Tuesday against Baltimore. Eovaldi was listed as a reliever on the team's lineup, pulled from the rotation to provide bullpen depth leading up the All-Star break and pitched 1 1/3 innings Friday. ... RHP Junichi Tazawa (right shoulder impingement) threw 25 pitches in an "aggressive" bullpen session, according to Farrell. Tazawa was placed on the disabled list Thursday but the move is retroactive to July 4 and Farrell said he expects him to return when eligible.

2016-07-17 02:46 The Sports scoresandstats.newyork.cbslocal.com

54 Pentagon frustrated at slow pace of digital war against Islamic State — RT America The unit, Joint Task Force Ares, debuted in May and coordinates efforts with US Central Command, headed by Lt. General Edward Cardon in Fort Meade, Maryland. The unit was tasked with taking on Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), an adversary outside the usual nation-state profile. The terrorist group’s sophisticated use of technology for recruiting, operations and propaganda has caught the attention of Congress and top military brass. “Cybercom has not been as effective as the Department would expect them to be, and they’re not as effective as they need to be,” a senior defense official who, like other officials, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations, told the Washington Post. “They need to deliver results.” Defense officials said the command is struggling to find the right staff and has yet to produce “a full suite of malware and other tools” to fight the enemy. So far, the unit has 100 personnel, including intelligence officials and staff from across the military. While the unit has been publicly discussed, the details about what form their digital weapons will take remained secret. The team might be creating ways to disrupt a payment system, take down a communications platform or bring down IS’ online magazine, Dabiq. Lt. General Cardon said the fledgling unit is having some effect but that the militants were also resisting its efforts, switching servers and other hardware to stay ahead of the attacks. “We’re definitely having an impact on them, but it’s a dynamic space,” the general said in an interview. The Pentagon hopes the cyber weapons will soon become as normal as airstrikes and artillery barrages. But there are critics to the pursuit of such digital arms. “The more dependent you are on technology, the more you are a target for cyberattack. And ISIS is less dependent,” James Lewis, a cyber-policy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Washington Post. “It doesn’t mean you get no military advantage out of it. But scruffy insurgents aren’t the best target for high-tech weapons.” Cardon cautioned that the cyber element is just one of many in the struggle against the Islamic State. “We’ll be a contributor,” he said. “This war here is not going to be won in cyberspace.” The Pentagon earlier this year engaged in a number of airstrikes as part of its Operation Inherent Resolve, designed to destroy infrastructure of the Islamic State. In February, the anti-IS coalition bombed an IS-controlled oil and gas plant. Earlier in the month, the coalition conducted 20 strikes on targets, ranging from oil and gas plants to IS mortar positions and weapon caches. IS allegedly receives two-thirds of its revenue from the sale of its illicit oil production. The New York Times estimated that the terror group could earn $40 million a month through the production and sale of oil on the black market. The Obama administration said that the overall military campaign against Islamic State has weakened the self-anointed caliphate. A senior administration official told Congress last month that the group had lost almost half the territory it once controlled in Iraq. In Syria, US-backed fighters are battling for control of areas along the Turkish and Iraqi borders.

2016-07-17 02:47 www.rt.com

55 NYPD to report use of force to public amid City Council drama — RT America These three bills passed Thursday could change the transparency of the New York Police Department. In a week following anti-police brutality protests and tensions between civilians and law enforcement over the use of force, it is a small win for New York’s City Council. The use of force reporting legislation passed 40-4. As a result, NYPD will be required to publicly report uses of force four times a year. The reports will include details about the force used, the precincts where it happened and any resulting injuries to civilians or police. In addition, cops will have to give a reason for stops that led to use of force. Reporting districts is especially important to Councilwoman Debi Rose (D- Staten Island), who introduced that particular piece of legislation after learning that 70 percent of the city’s most sued police officers were from the 120th Precinct’s narcotics unit on Staten Island, the New York Daily News reported . “ I was shocked, ” she told the Daily Mail. “ These statistics were startling and very disturbing. ” While the bills could pose a positive step forward for police and civilian relations, there are a few gaps that have bothered some. For example, the bills do not require demographic information – such as race, to be entered into the reports. One of the bill’s cosponsors, Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Queens) told the Daily Mail, “ There was no conscious decision to exclude that kind of demographic data. And if that were part of the bill, yeah, it would be a better bill. ” “ But it’s not a gaping hole, ” he added, “ The information has to be provided by precinct and that is a very reliable proxy for the demographics of the people involved. ” Being that this was in New York City where Police Commissioner Bill Bratton blamed New York Mayor Bill de Blasio for the shooting death of two officers in 2014, the vote did not go through without its share of drama. Many City Council members noticed a glaring omission from the vote. One police reform bill, the Right to Know Act, would have required that police identify themselves to the public, inform a person being stopped that they have a right to refuse a search without probable cause and then receive proof that they consented. The bill was backed by 53 rabbis across the city, the Daily News reported. In addition, it was supported by a women’s advocacy group called The Young Women’s Initiative. Unfortunately, the bill was not supported by the founder of the The Young Women’s Initiative, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, leading the bill to not be put to a vote Thursday, to the chagrin of the City Council. Mark- Viverito defended her choice, saying that the NYPD was making internal changes to require consent to searches and give out business cards in certain encounters. Not everyone was as hopeful about the outcome of the bill’s goals. New York Civil Liberties Union advocacy director Johanna Miller told the Daily Mail, “ The scary thing is it seems like the city that we’re living in, the commissioner has veto power over the City Council. And his ability to reject any laws that would impact the way police conduct themselves on the street is a really scary thing. ” “ Transparency is a really important tool, but by itself it’s not going to change behavior, ” she added. Mark-Viverito has lashed out against claims that Bratton somehow influenced her decision to not put the Right to Know bill to a vote. “ No one intimidates me into the decisions I make. No one forces me to take a position ,” said Mark-Viverito, addressing critics claiming that she made a deal with Bratton to kill the bills. “ Anyone that wants to imply otherwise is just straight up wrong .”

2016-07-17 02:47 www.rt.com

56 The real original "Ghost Busters" |The remake of the 1984 blockbuster, "Ghostbusters," is expected to dominate the box office in its debut weekend. But it turns out the 1984 original wasn't so "original" after all. Back in 1975, a Saturday morning television series called "The Ghost Busters" aired right here on CBS. Vinita Nair reports.

2016-07-17 02:46 The real www.cbsnews.com

57 Saturday Sessions: Steve Gunn performs "Ancient Jules" |Singer-songwriter Steve Gunn got off to an early start in high school punk bands, before establishing himself as a player in the Philly music scene. In 2001, the Lansdowne, Pennsylvania native moved to New York, eventually self-releasing his first solo album in 2007. Gunn has collaborated with a slew of artists while establishing his own acclaimed body of solo, duo and ensemble recordings. Now, the critically hailed musician has just released his seventh full-length studio album, "Eyes on the Lines. " Making their nationwide television debut on "CBS This Morning: Saturday," Gunn and his band, "The Outliners," perform "Ancient Jules. "

2016-07-17 02:46 Saturday Sessions www.cbsnews.com

58 Why great white sharks are a mystery to scientists |The great white may be the ocean's most feared fish, but scientists say there are more questions than answers when it comes to the sharks. National Geographic Magazine takes a deeper dive into the world of the great white in its July issue, as part of the magazine's "Summer of Sharks," highlighting a different species each month. Photographer Brian Skerry joins "CBS This Morning: Saturday" to share how he captures his up-close shots of sharks and explain why the great whites remain a mystery and aren't as scary as they seem.

2016-07-17 02:46 Why great www.cbsnews.com

59 World Architecture Festival shortlist All types and sizes of architectural projects are represented on the shortlist for this year's World Architecture Festival (WAF) awards. The Villa Marittima St Andrews Beach, Australia, by Robin Williams Architect, was shortlisted in the House: Completed Buildings category. The awards showcase entries ranging from private homes, shops and schools to large commercial developments and ambitious landscape projects. The World Maritime University, Tornhuset, by Terroir Pty Ltd, was selected in the Higher Education and Research: Completed Buildings category. This design creates an extension of the University of La Laguna's Tenerife campus. Created by GPY Arquitectos, the construction was also shortlisted in the Higher Education and Research Completed Buildings category. Zaha Hadid Architects' Investcorp Building for Oxford University's Middle East Centre at St Antony's College was one of the practice's shortlisted entries. Another by Zaha Hadid Architects, the Messner Mountain Museum, Corones, in Italy, was submitted in the Culture: Completed Buildings category. The Jungle House, by Studio MK27, projects out from the mountain on the Paulista shore of rainforest in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners have developed an economical and innovative housing solution in Y: Cube, which provides self-contained and affordable starter accommodation for young people. Bhutan Happiness Centre, by 112 Architects, was one of the entries in the Civic and Community category. The competition will be judged at the World Architecture Festival, in Berlin, 16-18 November 2016.

2016-07-17 02:45 www.bbc.co.uk

60 Is the left's big new idea a 'right to be lazy'? Why are so many on the left now arguing that the state should pay everyone a universal basic income? Imagine this. You can sit back, relax, turn on the telly, put your feet up. And the government will pay you for it without any of that tedious job-seeking and signing on business. It sounds like a fantasy. But it's an only slightly exaggerated version of the big idea animating many on the left of British politics, and which has just been adopted by Unite, the country's biggest trade union. "If you look at the history of the labour movement, the very first thing that the labour movement tried to do was to reduce the working week," says City University politics lecturer Nick Srnicek. "I think it would be an immense testament to society if we could all be lazy. " The policy behind "the right to be lazy" is an idea called a universal basic income: a flat payment to all adults regardless of circumstances. It's an idea some trace back to the 18th Century revolutionary Thomas Paine. There's a huge resurgence of interest now in the idea in policy circles and among political big beasts such as former Labour leader Ed Miliband. "I think the universal basic income is an admirable idea because it thinks big about our society," he says. "It says we want to give people much greater freedom in their lives, much greater freedom to learn, to care for others, to work as well. "I'd put myself in the category of someone willing to be convinced, but there are obstacles. " The Green Party is already convinced, and the policy has been part of its platform for over 30 years. It is now the subject of multiple pamphlets, think tank debates and even public meetings. So what does the new-found popularity of this idea say about the intellectual state of the left today? One answer lies in the response to the changing world of work. Over the past few decades, machines and computers have increasingly replaced "routine jobs" - in factories and banks - and that has increased wage inequality. Now, the robots have the accountants and lawyers in their sights. Growing numbers of us are likely to feel the white heat of technology. That is accompanied by greater job insecurity - with a world of zero-hours contracts and the "gig economy". For Ed Miliband, this threatens the assumptions behind the traditional welfare state, which was designed for a world of full-time work, mainly by men. The welfare state, he says, "has struggled to keep up". "It's a very very binary old-fashioned 20th Century system in what feels like a significantly changing world of work. " To shore up public support for the system, politicians have become tougher on people receiving unemployment benefits. But many on the left are uncomfortable with the tough regime and see a universal basic income as a better solution. "You end up with this whole architecture of interference, which actually doesn't enable people to fundamentally get out of this low pay, low security environment in which they're in," says Anthony Painter, of the Royal Society of Arts. He argues that a guaranteed basic income would give individuals the security to retrain or try out new business ideas. It would, he believes, reward forms of work that are currently not remunerated - like caring for family members or volunteering. That security could change the power dynamics between worker and boss, and would enable employees to say no. "Suddenly the worker has the choice to be able to say, 'Well I don't want to take this job, and in fact I don't have to,'" says Mr Srnicek. Interestingly, the idea of a universal basic income is also receiving support on the libertarian right - and indeed the free-market guru Milton Friedman was a fan of a similar idea. "It's a way of making the state much, much less invasive and much, much less powerful over other people's lives," says Sam Bowman, of the free-market Adam Smith Institute. He believes that it would help the transition for people in traditional jobs heading into the new economy. "I've heard this expression that automation and globalisation are like going to Australia: it's fantastic once you get there, but the journey can be really, really difficult. " Yet this support raises suspicions on the left. Do libertarians only like a universal basic income because they see it as a way of dismantling the furniture of the welfare state? And there are other objections. Labour MP Jon Cruddas sees the embrace of universal basic income as "absolutely deadly" for his party. "Part of the thing about the basic income is that it assumes that the working class will disappear, right? " he asks. "Now if you disrespect them to that degree, is it any wonder that they'll go walkabout? " Mr Cruddas warns that a left-wing embrace of the policy would constitute an electoral gift to UKIP, dismissing it as "a form of futurology which owes more to Arthur C Clarke than it does to Karl Marx". "It imports a sort of passive citizenship with no sense of contribution. It doesn't contest the sphere of production, and it just retreats into a hyper- consumption. " Ed Miliband, for his part, sees this as a policy that deserves to be piloted to see if it could work. "I think the important thing about this idea is it's an idea not for next week or next month but it's an idea for five, 10, 15 years ahead. And the case has got to be built. "

2016-07-17 02:45 By Sonia www.bbc.co.uk

61 61 Attack in Nice: Missing baby boy reunited with his family A baby boy who went missing during the lorry attack in Nice on Thursday has been reunited with his family after a Facebook appeal went viral. The child and his parents had become separated during the Bastille Day incident. Yohlaine Ramasitera, a friend of the boy's parents, posted a picture of herself with the missing baby on Facebook, and included her phone number in the post. Yohlaine's appeal was spotted by her friend Rebecca Boulanger a pastor at Nice's Victory Christian Church. She was at home with her husband Phillipe and their 18-month-old daughter. Boulanger wrote a Facebook post in English appealing for help to find the child. "Yohlaine is my friend and member of my congregation. When I saw her appeal about her friend's missing baby I reacted the way I would want people to react if it was my child," she said. "I contacted people through social media and asked them to share, pray and believe we would find the boy. We were due to go to see the fireworks that night but decided to stay home and put our baby to sleep, so we were shocked when we heard the news. " Soon Boulanger's Facebook friends began sharing the appeal to find the missing baby. They included the boy's aunt whose own post was shared 22 thousand times. Meanwhile members of the child's family were out on the streets frantically looking for him. "My husband and I were doing what we could from home monitoring social media and spreading the news. I was in touch with Yohlaine throughout the evening. " Boulanger explains. Within two hours Yohlaine was contacted by a local woman who had seen her Facebook post. She said she had taken the baby to her home and he was safe and well. "It was a miracle. " Boulanger said. "A picture of the child was requested from the woman to ensure that it was him, and then finally the baby was reunited with his worried parents. " Boulanger is in regular contact with the family and says the boy's parents are doing better but have requested privacy. "There was a lot of chaos that night and we know lots of people caught up in that terrible tragedy. " She says. "So we are opening the doors of the church all weekend for those affected. "People often criticise social media but one of the joys is that it has the power to bring hope to people amidst the darkness. " By Rozina Sini, BBC's UGC and Social News team

2016-07-17 02:45 www.bbc.co.uk

62 Didcot power station: Search to resume after demolition Search efforts for three men killed in the Didcot power station collapse are set to resume later when the remainder of the building is demolished. Demolition workers Ken Cresswell, 57, and John Shaw, 61, both from Rotherham, and Chris Huxtable, 34, from Swansea, were trapped under rubble when the structure crumbled on 23 February. Four people died in the disaster . Only the body of Michael Collings, 53, of Teesside, was recovered following the collapse. A remote demolition is due to bring down the remainder of the decommissioned site shortly before 06:00 BST in a unique operation that will make use of remote-controlled robots. Currently the building - which was due for demolition when it partially collapsed - is too unstable to be approached. Once the explosives attached to the structure are detonated, teams will be deployed to resume searching the remnants of the plant for the first time since May. The families of the three men yet to be recovered opposed plans to use explosives for the demolition. Steve Hall, son-in-law of victim Ken Cresswell, previously said: "We want the men back in one piece, not many pieces. " Roland Alford, the explosives contractor at the power station, said the four- month delay in completing the demolition was necessary on safety grounds. He added: "It was almost unthinkable to send people to work underneath there and place charges, given the fact the building could come down at any moment - you legally can't justify that. " Roads in the area will be closed during the blast.

2016-07-17 02:45 www.bbc.co.uk

63 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]

2016-07-17 02:45 www.bbc.co.uk

64 Crossword artwork filled in by German woman in museum A 91-year-old woman is under investigation in Germany after filling in blank spaces on a crossword-themed artwork in a museum. "Reading-work-piece" is a 1965 piece by avant garde artist Arthur Koepcke and features the phrase "insert words". The woman began writing on it using a ballpoint pen during a visit by senior citizens to Nuremberg's Neues Museum. Museum officials say they believe the work can be restored and said the woman was reported for insurance reasons. The woman is being investigated for damage to property, although there is no suggestion of any malicious intent. The pensioner told police she understood the English-language instruction on the artwork to insert words and took it as an invitation to fill in answers to the clues, Suddeutsche Zeitung reported. She added that this should not have come as a surprise to the museum as it had not put up a notice instructing visitors not to write on the piece, the newspaper said. Gerlinde Knopp, who was leading the excursion, said the museum was also full of interactive art, making it easy to lose sight of what one could and could not do there, "Reading-work-piece", which is on loan to the museum from a private collection, is insured for €80,000 ($89,000; £67,000).

2016-07-17 02:45 www.bbc.co.uk

65 EgyptAir crash: On-board recording discusses fire An audio recording made on board an EgyptAir flight that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea in May discusses a fire, investigators say. An Egyptian-led team said on Saturday that the information was found on a cockpit flight recording. But the investigative committee said it was too early to say where or why the fire broke out. All 66 people on board died when flight MS804, flying from Paris to Cairo, crashed on 19 May. The new information appears to back up evidence from the flight recorder of smoke in the cabin. Recovered wreckage also showed signs of high temperature damage and soot on the jet's front section. Automated electronic messages sent out by the plane had shown smoke detectors going off in a toilet and in the avionics area below the cockpit, minutes before the plane disappeared. No distress call was made from the plane prior to the crash. Egyptian investigators have not ruled out any reasons for the crash, including terrorism, particularly as such catastrophic fires on passenger planes are so rare. The data recorders were taken to Paris after being found, and the cockpit voice recorder was in need of considerable repair. The investigative committee also said on Saturday that a research ship, the John Lethbridge, had finished its search for human remains, which have been transferred to Cairo for identification.

2016-07-17 02:45 www.bbc.co.uk

66 Venezuela re-opens Colombian border to allow shoppers to cross Venezuela has opened its border with Colombia for the second time this month to allow people to cross over to shop for basic foods and medicines. Last week 35,000 crossed over for the first time since the border was closed a year ago by President Nicolas Maduro to fight cross-border crime. Officials said they were expecting even larger crowds this weekend. Many basic goods are in short supply in Venezuela because of a severe economic crisis in the country. The border across a pedestrian bridge connecting Tachira in Venezuela and Cucuta in Colombia opened on Saturday, a day earlier than authorities from both countries had previously announced. Officials said they wanted to avoid the build-up of too many people. It was expected to stay open for about 12 hours. Venezuelans cross border Growing discontent on the streets Women push past border controls Venezuela has suffered severe shortages for months as a result of the falling price of oil which is the country's prime source of income. Many supermarket have empty shelves and Venezuelans spend days in queues to buy basic goods. Government critics also blame President Maduro for severe mismanagement of the economy. Mr Maduro for his part has blamed the country's business community for the shortages. He ordered the border to be closed in August 2015 after former Colombian paramilitaries attacked a Venezuelan military patrol and wounded three soldiers.

2016-07-17 02:45 www.bbc.co.uk

67 Jacob Zuma painting: Are South Africans 'too free'? A painting showing South Africa's President Jacob Zuma engaging in a sex act has sparked a debate in the country about the right to offend. The caricature is the work of controversial artist Anyanda Mabulu. Before his latest work he had angered South Africans after he pictured President Zuma doing a Zulu dance while exposing his genitalia. Many have called his latest work offensive, culturally inappropriate, a taboo and un-African. President Zuma's party says the artwork is an affront to the constitution: "The ANC condemns this form of commentary and views it as an abuse of the right to freedom of speech and media," its spokesman Zizi Kodwa said in a statement. "Mabulu's exhibition is a grotesque act of vulgarity and disrespect, and a blatant violation of the right to dignity of those portrayed. " Mabulu has however defended his work, saying his artistic rights are protected in the constitution. The opposing views have now ignited a debate on whether the country's much lauded constitution is too liberal for its own citizens. Tusi Fokane, executive director at the Freedom of Expression Institute, an NGO set up at the end of apartheid in 1994 to protect and foster the right to freedom of expression, did not want to comment on the painting but said: "The right to freedom of expression under section 16 of the constitution includes freedom of artistic impression. " "You can only limit the right in terms of the limitations that are already set down in the constitution which include incitement of violence, hate speech or incitement to war," she adds. Pitika Ntuli, a historian and artist, disagreed with Mabulu's style but echoed the famous quote from Beatrice Hall: "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it". "I wouldn't paint a painting like that but I can choose a different symbolic way to express my art," Ntuli said. "But it is his right as a portrait painter to depict what he feels he sees around him. " Mabulu is not the only artist to have targeted President Zuma. In 2012, Brett Murray reprised a propaganda painting of Vladimir Lenin, but with Mr Zuma's penis hanging out of his trousers. It was later defaced. Mr Zuma sued Murray for violating his dignity and for not respecting his office. Mabulu defends his latest painting saying that he wanted to make a political point. He said he wanted voters to know who they would be voting for ahead of local elections due on 3 August. The polls are being keenly watched for signs that the ANC might be losing the electoral dominance it has enjoyed since the end of apartheid in 1994. "I am trying to expose him! The people need to know this beast," Mabulu told the BBC. He defended himself from accusations of being obsessed with Zuma. "I do other works of art and other paintings. I did a series on Black Lives Matter to highlight the plight faced by black people in the US and in Europe. " "But nobody talks about it. People just want to focus on the negative. " The irony here is that while many people vehemently disagreed with Mabulu's portraits, they support and defend the sanctity of the constitution which gives him the right to artistic expression.

2016-07-17 02:45 By Milton www.bbc.co.uk

68 Stressed and stuck in Macedonia: Balkans' hidden migrant story Tabanovce is not the kind of place a traveller would choose to stop on a long journey. The main feature of this small village close to Macedonia's northern border with Serbia is an unlovely railway siding. But hundreds of people fleeing conflict have found themselves stuck here for weeks or even months following the official closure of the so-called Balkan route in March. Instead of quickly passing through the transit camp next to the railway lines and on to trains bound for Serbia and the EU beyond, they have been stranded in what amounts to an oversized, al fresco waiting room. The camp is an arid facility, with no trees to provide shade. The white gravel paths reflect the sun, as do the pale-hued accommodation huts, giving the place a bleached-out, desolate feel. But the residents of the Tabanovce Transit Camp currently call it home. "They missed the last train," says Muhammad Arif, the representative in Macedonia of the UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR. Now the people here are caught in an unenviable situation. With the Balkan route officially closed, there is no simple way forward towards the European Union. But, as Mr Arif points out, almost all of them are fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, so returning home is out of the question as well. "They wanted to continue their journey but they're stuck here. They're getting frustrated and depressed - the blockage causes stress and trauma for them. " The metal roof of the camp's open-sided canteen at least provides some welcome shade in the middle of the day. Summer temperatures rise well past 30C - and sometimes beyond 40C. The residents linger after lunch to chat. There is, after all, little else to do. They are a mixture of solo travellers and family groups. At the time of the BBC's visit, the youngest resident was just eight days old: Mahdis Azizi, whose mother Simin Afshar had travelled from Herat in Afghanistan with three other daughters, ranging in age from three to 12 years old. "We'll stay here until the authorities make a decision," says Simin. "We were very unlucky. When we arrived the border was closed; we just got stuck here. Others had the financial ability to leave. Lots of families have gone. But I'm a woman heading the family, I was pregnant - and I'm out of money. " As Simin notes, numbers in the camp have fallen. There were 1,400 when the last train departed from Tabanovce in March. Now there are fewer than 100. Some found an official way forward and have been able to join family members already in EU countries. Others decided to short-circuit the process, and paid people-smugglers to get them across the borders. The traffickers are not known for their scruples and Simin says she would never consider dealing with them. "I would not take that risk with my daughters. Even if I had the money, I couldn't trust anyone. " Rights workers find it hard to contain their exasperation. The countries along the Balkan route may have declared it closed, but the flow of people continues. Authorities in Serbia report around 500 crossings every day. And instead of travelling safely in official trains from one border to the next, people are making deals with criminal networks. "The smuggling business is booming," says the UNHCR's Muhammad Arif. "There needs to be a more humane way, otherwise these people running for their lives will be left in the hands of smugglers who can extort, beat and rob them. These countries have to handle the situation better. " Some at Tabanovce have taken the advice of human rights lawyer Arben Gudacion on how to apply for asylum in Macedonia. But almost all of them still have their sights set on the EU - and that desperation leads them to take considerable risks. "Especially after the borders closed, we can see they're more vulnerable, because they have to go through smugglers," says Mr Gudaci. "They go over mountains; they walk for several days. Many refugees have been attacked by the population or smugglers. They were robbed and beaten. " So perhaps it is little wonder that the remaining residents at Tabanovce view staying put as the least worst option. Compared with the horrors which many of them left behind, a few months in a railway siding does not seem like such an ordeal. "In Afghanistan we did not feel secure," says Simin Afshar's 12-year-old daughter, Simira. "There was fighting every day there. Here we feel safe. At least we can walk around without fear. But in Afghanistan we could not walk to the end of the street - it was full of risks. " The summer of 2015 saw tumultuous scenes in Macedonia. While they may not be repeated, there is still a hidden story on the Balkan route, with thousands of people desperate to reach Western Europe. Some of them are on the move, some of them stuck in camps like Tabanovce. But all of them are determined to get somewhere better.

2016-07-17 02:45 By Guy www.bbc.co.uk

69 Iran state media alarmed at English text on clothes A recent trend among Iranians to wear clothing emblazoned with English- language writing has prompted alarm in the official media. A report on state-run Channel Two highlighted what it called a fashion to put "obscene", "Satanist" and "anti-religious" messages on men's T-shirts and women's tops. Set to ominous music of the sort usually reserved for exposes of serious wrongdoing, the report features people sporting phrases such as "love", "not normal" and "no rules" on their outfits. One shot shows a person with their face blurred wearing a top with the words "Friday Night". Of particular concern seems to be a women's range with the humorous slogan "Keep calm I'm Queen". It's apparently inspired by the popular British "Keep calm and carry on" image, but the TV channel has a different take, telling viewers that "queen" is a US slang term to describe "men who look like women". Sellers appear taken aback by the media interest. One clothes shop owner tells the TV that there is strong demand for such products, but also blames their availability on an "import mafia". Other shopkeepers on a similar report by the Fars news agency - apparently unaware of being filmed - are heard complaining about "conservatives" making a fuss about a "minor issue". The public's views appear to be mixed. One comment on the Fars website quotes Koranic verses on the need for hijab - the headscarf worn to comply with the Islamic Republic's clothing laws - but another responds: "If it were up to you [conservatives], we'd all wear black. " Next story: South Korea tackles baffling menu translations Use #NewsfromElsewhere to stay up-to-date with our reports via Twitter. 2016-07-17 02:45 By News www.bbc.co.uk

70 South Korea tackles baffling menu translations South Korea has set up a government task force aimed at ridding menus of confusing or embarrassing translations of Korean dishes. Officials from two ministries will team up with language and food experts in order to agree on standardised descriptions for the country's cuisine in English, Chinese and Japanese, the Korea Times reports . The authorities aren't happy about the baffling - and often amusing - translations spotted on menus over the past few years, many the result of computer translation tools. English-speaking diners who chose the "dynamic stew" at one restaurant may have been disappointed to be greeted with pollock, while another place called a dish "six times", when it was actually steak tartare, the report notes. It's not only a problem in English. A university study presented to the National Assembly in June found that of 185 Seoul restaurants with Chinese-language menus, a third had inaccurate translations. One reportedly offered Chinese diners "spicy and weird soup" alongside a creation described as "roast grandmother" - in reality a pork dish with aged kimchi. Assembly member Yeom Dong-yeol said at the time that providing accurate foreign names was important to "increase the cultural value of Korean foods". To help restaurateurs out, the new task force is setting up a website listing the correct translations for each dish and promoting their findings to menu designers. See also: Does Singapore really need a Michelin star guide? Next story: India offers Ganges holy water by post Use #NewsfromElsewhere to stay up-to-date with our reports via Twitter .

2016-07-17 02:45 By News www.bbc.co.uk

71 Syria conflict: Air strikes 'kill at least 28' in Aleppo Air strikes on the Syrian city of Aleppo have killed at least 28 people, including children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The attacks, reportedly by Syrian or Russian warplanes, were on rebel- held areas in the east of the city. A correspondent for the French news agency AFP who is in Aleppo says barrel bombs were dropped on several areas. In one neighbourhood, a hospital was hit in the bombing, wounding some staff and patients. "All kinds of weapons were used to bomb the hospital, from midnight until about 11:00. Now it's unusable," Mohammad Kheir, one of its doctors, told AFP. People of another neighbourhood reported the use of the crude unguided explosive devices too. "All of a sudden there was a barrel bomb on top of us. We came outside and a second one, then a third one hit us," said Ahmad Erfan, a teenager living in the Salhin neighbourhood. The Syrian government says western areas of Aleppo, which it controls, have been hit by rebel shelling, killing at least one person. Aleppo, once Syria's commercial and industrial hub, has been divided since 2012, with the government controlling the western half and rebel factions holding the east. Life inside rebel-held Aleppo What is left after five years of war? Why is there a war in Syria? Profile: Aleppo, Syria's second city But in recent months, government forces backed by Russian air strikes have almost encircled the rebel-held areas and cut off one of the rebels' two routes to Turkey. Since the, the government has advanced further on the one remaining supply line. The battle for the city led to the collapse of a cessation of hostilities negotiated by Russia and the US at the end of February. On Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov said they had agreed on "concrete steps" to salvage the failing ceasefire.

2016-07-17 02:45 www.bbc.co.uk

72 Zimbabwe's pastor 'hero': #ThisFlag preacher A Zimbabwean pastor is being hailed by many of his countrymen as a hero on social media for calling for an end to the country's economic woes. With no known political credentials but with a toxic mix of religion and patriotism, Evan Mawarire seems to have won over Zimbabweans who are sick of politicians from all political parties. In the wake of the pastor's appearance in court this week, when a magistrate threw out charges by the state prosecutor that he was trying to overthrow President Robert Mugabe, one Zimbabwean in the UK spent hours on Photoshop to create an image of Mr Mawarire as superhero "Captain Zimbabwe". "I did it with the younger generation of Zimbabwe in mind who might not understand what the struggle in Zimbabwe is about," Tawada Sibotshiwe told the BBC after sharing the picture on Twitter. "I did it so they can visualise the man who has inspired Zimbabweans to seek dialogue with their government in a peaceful manner. " The pastor has galvanised people outside and inside Zimbabwe, where the governing elite is viewed by some as ruining a once-thriving economy and where the opposition is fractured and ineffectual. Through his social media movement, which uses the hashtag #ThisFlag, he has been backing a stay-away campaign this month to protest about perceived corruption and economic mismanagement So does the Baptist preacher have any political credentials? He told the BBC's Brian Hungwe in the capital, Harare, that his first brush with politics was as a child after a naughty spell at school in the mid-1990s. After getting bad grades one term he was moved to another school where he thrived - so much that he was nominated as a child parliamentarian to represent Harare. The child parliament mirrors Zimbabwe's real legislative chamber with each constituency having a representative on the body. Mr Mawarire was then made child president and met the real president. He described his first encounter with Mr Mugabe as full of "respect and admiration". "It's 23 years now since I met him. He was my hero then," the 39-year-old told Zimbabwe Independent. "Today I look back and say: 'What changed?' Either I grew up or he messed up big time for sure. " After leaving school, he qualified as an auto electrician before starting his church, getting married and having two daughters. His social media fame came after he spontaneously posted a video online , expressing his frustration at the state of the nation. He told the Daily Maverick that he filmed the unscripted speech in April in a moment of clarity after a day of struggling to work out how to pay his children's school fees - most of his income comes from his bookings as a master of ceremonies. "I was very disappointed. I remember looking at this flag [in my office]. I thought if I was in another country I could not have failed to have what I need," he told the Zimbabwe Independent. The video that went viral started with the pastor saying: "I'm not a politician; I'm not an activist... just a citizen. " Wrapped in the stripped Zimbabwean flag, he then pointed out what each of the flag's colours was supposed to represent. "They tell me that the green is for the vegetation and for the crops. I don't see any crops in my country," he said, leaning over to fit in the frame of the phone camera while emotive music played the background. After listing all the ways the flag had let him down, he turned to each colour again stating how it should be an inspiration. The green "is the power of being able to push through soil, push past limitations and flourish and grow", he said. He ended by promising to stop standing on the sidelines and start fighting for his country. He has gone on to produce many videos posted to Facebook and Twitter. An inspiring orator, he delivers one sentence in English and then repeats it in Shona, Zimbabwe's most spoken language. But in all his messages urging people to refuse to pay bribes and to stand up for their rights, he stipulates that all protest must be peaceful. "Our protest - non-violent, non-inciting, stay-at-home - is the best because it is within the confines of the law," he told the BBC. Shutdown activists' five demands: What is behind the protests? The flag and the bible are his symbols - and the only two things he carried with him when turned himself in for questioning before his arrest on Wednesday. At his hearing a day later - with crowds of supporters, many draped in the national flag, spilling out of the court, singing and praying for him outside - the case was dismissed. Prosecutors first charged him with inciting public violence and then at the last minute added subversion, which his lawyers successfully argued would deny him a fair trial. His critics complain that the preacher does not speak for everyone and there has been no proof of how widespread his support is. "A Facebook wall or Twitter feed does not equate to a polling booth granting him an electoral mandate," writes Bernard Bwoni in the state newspaper The Herald. Mr Mawarire argues that it his religion that has given him the courage to continue, despite attempted abductions and threats, including one to strangle him with a flag. "I go back to the bible," he told the Zimbabwe Independent. "It says unless the watchman watches with God, he will watch in vain. The God factor is driving me. " 2016-07-17 02:45 www.bbc.co.uk

73 New species of extinct rodent offers insight into ancient animal migration A handful of tiny teeth found in the Negev led an international team of researchers to describe a new species of rodent which has been extinct for nearly 18 million years. The discovery of Sayimys negevensis sheds new light on the likely dispersal route of mammals and other species between Eurasia and Africa in the Early Miocene Epoch (23 million to 16 million years ago) and highlights Israel’s special paleogeographic position as the lynchpin of the Levantine corridor connecting Eurasia with North Africa. The research, recently published in the scientific journal PLoS One, described a distant forerunner of the present-day gundi – a small rodent with a comb-like bristles on the two middle toes of its hind feet, also known as “comb rat.” “It is a pivotal species that bridges the gap between an array of primitive Ctenodactylines and the most derived, Early Miocene and later, gundis,” researchers said in their article. Gundis are the last descendants of the family Ctenodactylidae, whose earliest ancestors appeared in Asia about 40 million years ago. They experienced their greatest diversification and widest distribution – from Far East to Africa – in Miocene times. Nowadays they live in groups on rocky outcrops in deserts and semi-deserts of East and North Africa. Researchers named the new species Sayimys negevensis after the Negev locality where it was found. Israel is the only place along the Eastern Mediterranean stretching from Anatolia to the Sinai where fossil sites of the Early Miocene period have been found. “The fossil sites of Israel are in a unique position to offer data on the early times of the large waves of faunal exchanges that took place around 19 million years ago between Eurasia and Africa,” said Dr. Raquel Lopez- Antoñanzas, a senior researcher at the University of Bristol, who led the research. During the Early Miocene period, Israel was still more firmly attached to Africa, and most of the mammals found there were of African origin. Sayimys negevensis is one of the few species discovered in Israel with Eurasian affinities. “The new Israeli species is closer in morphology to nearly coeval species found in Pakistan, therefore demonstrating that mammals were already using the Levantine corridor to travel between Eurasia and Africa in the Early Miocene period,” said research co-author Dr. Rivka Rabinovich from the Institute of Earth Sciences and the National Natural History Collections at the Hebrew University. OPTIMAL BRAIN ACTIVITY MAY LEAD TO HALLUCINATION STATE A recent Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Weizmann Institute of Science study proposes that learning processes may drive networks of neurons in the brain to operate in the vicinity of a unique border state. On one hand, adapting to work in this state could enable peak performance in the ability to process incoming sensory information. On the other hand, it may also entail a risk of crossing over into an undesirable regime of fictitious neural representations, namely hallucinations. The study provides a theoretical basis for the idea that the brain operates near a critical state and is important for both characterizing healthy brain dynamics and understanding potential mechanisms for the development of brain disorders. The study was recently published in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology by BGU researcher Dr. Oren Shriki of the department of cognitive and brain sciences, in collaboration with Dovi Yellin from Weizmann’s neurobiology department. Neuronal networks in the brain include feedforward connections that convey information from one processing stage to another. However, neurons in each processing stage also talk to one another through recurrent connections. Recurrent networks display a rich repertoire of dynamic behaviors. In particular, they can maintain activity even without objective input, a state which can be interpreted as a hallucination. A major question is how the recurrent connections contribute to information representation in the brain and how they should evolve to optimize information representation. The researchers developed and studied a mathematical model of a neuronal network, which includes both feedforward connections from one layer of neurons to another, and recurrent connections among the neurons at the second layer, which represents the information. Similar to real neuronal networks in the brain, the network model is presented with external sensory outputs, and the recurrent connections among the neurons evolve through a learning process. The plasticity rules that govern the changes in the recurrent connections are designed to improve the information representation. The researchers found that the network tended to operate close to the border between normal information processing and a state of hallucinations. This can be explained through a simple analogy: Imagine that you have to speak through a microphone to a large audience. When you increase the volume of the amplifier, at some point you start to hear a sharp tone, which results from feedback between the microphone and the amplifier. To avoid this tone, which does not convey information, but still maintain a high volume, you slightly decrease the volume. Similarly, optimal sensitivity to external inputs is achieved when the recurrent dynamics in the neuronal network are strong enough to amplify the external inputs, but not so dominant as to generate hallucinations. These findings provide insights into what may cause several neurological and psychiatric disorders. In particular, these networks are very sensitive to small changes in the strength of the connections among the neurons. Such small changes can shift an otherwise healthy neuronal network into hallucinations and manifest as a neurological disorder. For example, it is known that during sensory deprivation, people start to develop hallucinations. The model proposes an interesting explanation for this phenomenon: when the inputs to the network are attenuated, the network approaches the critical point to further amplify the inputs, but may also cross over to the undesired regime of hallucinations.

2016-07-17 01:57 JUDY SIEGEL www.jpost.com

74 Report: PM will likely be questioned under caution in latest investigation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to undergo an investigation under caution, as part of a probe into a wider, unspecified investigation surrounding alleged money-laundering, Channel 2 and Channel 10 reported on Friday night. Earlier Friday, The Jerusalem Post’s sister publication Maariv quoted law enforcement officials saying that they will ask Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit to order an investigation of the prime minister. According to the Channel 2 report, members of Netanyahu’s family are also likely to be questioned regarding money and presents allegedly given to them. The reports follow the 15 hours of questioning on Thursday of Ari Harow, Netanyahu’s former chief of staff, who was placed under a five-day house arrest. Channel 2 reported that Harow’s latest questioning differed from what he went through in December, which focused on his personal dealings. The current questioning dealt with issues pertaining to Netanyahu. Harow is expected to be questioned again in the upcoming days. While the probe into Netanyahu’s fund-raising dealings are sourced locally and mostly internal, there are some external influences. Channel 2 and Channel 10 reported that Jona Rechnitz, a family member of Shlomo Rechnitz, an American businessman and documented donor for Netanyahu, became entangled in a US based probe surrounding personal dealings. FBI investigations into the affairs of the Rechnitz family member revealed a connection to Netanyahu. This discovery, Channel 2 reported, transforms the Netanyahu investigation into a tri-national probe, with possible evidence in Israel, the US, and France. Due to the global magnitude and nature of this probe, Netanyahu’s investigation will likely be a lengthy one, and may involve FBI cooperation. A source close to Netanyahu responded to the reports that “the probes will result in nothing, because there isn’t anything.”

2016-07-17 01:36 GIL HOFFMAN www.jpost.com

75 Can Erdogan heal divisions in Turkey? Political leaders from around the world have condemned the attempt to oust the democratically elected government in Turkey. They have also called for calm and the need to act within the rule of law to avoid further instability. Can Recep Tayyip Erdogan heal the divisions in the country? Jeremy Bowen reports. 2016-07-17 01:25 www.bbc.co.uk

76 Coalition to advance bill targeting V15 group The heads of the parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition will meet on Sunday to discuss how to advance a bill that would hobble political organizations like V15 that campaigned against Netanyahu in the last election. Attention has been focused on V15 after a bipartisan US Senate subcommittee criticized the State Department for giving a $350,000 grant to OneVoice, which became V15. Proposed by Likud MK Yoav Kisch, the bill would prevent organizations involved in elections from raising more than NIS 1,000 a month. Netanyahu has announced his support for the bill. V15, which has since renamed itself Darkenu, caused headaches for Netanyahu ahead of the March 2015 election by hosting rallies against him and spending huge sums on billboards and canvasing voters. Such activity was legal, because they did not tell voters to support a specific party or candidate. Kisch said the Senate report proved how important it is to fix the loophole that V15 exploited in the last election. He said that besides V15, he wanted to prevent a recurrence of the 1999 election in which fictitious organizations were used to finance the campaign of then-prime ministerial candidate Ehud Barak. “Campaign fund-raising laws would no longer be able to be bypassed by such organizations,” Kisch said. “If we don’t close this loophole, our elections could stoop to those of America, in which huge sums are drafted from wealthy people to impact the results of the elections. Our elections must be more transparent with rules that are fair.” The bill’s advancement has been prevented in recent months by Bayit Yehudi, which is concerned that it will prevent right-wing organizations from impacting elections. Construction Minister Uri Ariel of Bayit Yehudi asked Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit Thursday to investigate Darkenu.

2016-07-17 01:02 GIL HOFFMAN www.jpost.com

77 'Nothing like having a nice Jewish professor attack Israel' Rather than re-branding itself as a land of beautiful beaches and great food, Israel can improve its position on US campuses by recasting itself, reconstructing the framework through which the country is seen, said Mervin Verbit, president of a new organization aiming to build a better appreciation of Israel among professors. The moral framework on American campuses about Israel used to be – up until the 1990s – that Israel was a great, gritty little country, and that Israelis were “our kinds of folks,” said Verbit, whose organization is called the Academic Council for Israel. “If that is the attitude, then people understand what happens within that general framework,” he explained during a visit to Israel last week. “If that framework weakens, then slowly people can come to see things in a negative light.” The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, he said, is pernicious not because it poses an economic threat to Israel. It is dangerous, because “even when they lose, they win – they open up things for discussion and generate debate topics, which are then an important first step to undermining Israel’s legitimacy,” he asserted. Verbit, a professor and chairman of the sociology department at Touro College in New York, said that up until the early 1990s, Israel and pro-Israel professors on US campuses were working actively to strengthen the understanding of the country, its history, politics and culture, in order to get professors to understand that it is appropriate to stand behind Israel on strategic and moral grounds. In the early ’90s, however, Israel became less interested, and there was less contact and cooperation, as well as less financial support for lectures, journals and one-on one meetings between professors and Israeli influentials, he said. There was a feeling at the time in Israel that good policy did not need hasbara (public diplomacy), as well as a school of thought in Jerusalem that held that Israel could “take care of itself completely without help,” Verbit said. The Arabs, however “kept going,” he said. “They watched how we did it over the years, framed their arguments in academic terms. We stopped, and they kept going.” About 10 years ago the government once again understood the importance of working with professors on US campuses, so it was picked up again, but now there are a number of various organizations working on different campuses, and without coordination. That is a gap the organization that he heads hopes to fill: “to serve as the bridge among professors, and between professors and students working for Israel, as well as do some of the academic work [about Israel-related issues] that professors do best for themselves.” What the Arab groups have done on campus, he said, is make Israel’s legitimacy – the fact that it is made up of “our kinds of folk” – debatable. “The Arab perspective is long range, even if they don’t win today or tomorrow, if they manage to erode support for Israel over time, it will pay off,” he said. “They believe that if you just weaken the support for Israel, then history will give them the opportunity to capitalize on that.” Verbit agreed that a line can be drawn from the attitudes of US college professors, and the current debate with the Democratic Party about its platform on Israel. Noting that the positive light in which many professors framed Israel on campuses some 25 years ago has changed, Verbit said that “education is what you remember after you forgot everything you learned. The framework is what sticks,” he said, and if students spend their years on campus hearing Israel placed in a negative framework, then when they go out into the world – when they join, for instance, the local Democratic Party committee – that framework stays with them. His organization numbers about 150 professors from around the US, about 15 percent of whom are not Jewish, and is focused on dealing with faculty at the various colleges and universities. Among the most problematic professors for Israel are anti-Israel Jewish ones, he said. “There is nothing like having a nice Jewish professor attack Israel, and an Israeli professor is even better,” he said. “In many professions, colleagues are willing to be approached by other colleagues,” he said. “Professors listen to other professors. “I am convinced most professors are honest,” he asserted. “They know what they read in the press, and what the advocacy organizations tell them.” He wants to get them material that they will actually read, which is of an academic nature, and which paints a fair picture. Verbit has experience bringing professors to Israel, and said that when you bring “open minded academics, most are willing to learn, and it changes them.”

2016-07-17 00:50 HERB KEINON www.jpost.com

78 Posing topless, the smiling face of terror: Bastille Day attacker pictured sunning his torso in grinning holiday snap just months before his deadly massacre Strolling towards the camera on a family beach trip, topless terrorist Mohamed Bouhlel suns himself in a holiday snap taken just months before he slaughtered 84 people on Bastille Day. The Tunisian- born gym fanatic, 31, ploughed a 19-tonne lorry into crowds of men, women and children while they were celebrating France's most important national holiday in Nice on Thursday. A further 202 people were injured, including 50 who are 'between life and death', after monstrous Bouhlel brought terror and bloodshed to the French Riviera. The delivery driver, who was also a keen kickboxer, is believed to have been taking strong medication to control mood swings which had destroyed his marriage. His cousin told MailOnline Bouhlel never prayed or attended a mosque, and hit his wife - with whom he had three children aged five, three and 18 months - and was in the process of getting a divorce. Bouhlel is also said to have been addicted to strong cannabis which made his bouts of mental illness worse. The terrorist, who had been known to the French police since January, had been on the radar for six months for petty criminality. It is understood he lost his job as a delivery driver when he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into four cars and had also been involved in a bar brawl. Walid Hamou, a cousin of Bouhlel's wife Hajer Khalfallah, told MailOnline: 'Bouhlel was not religious. He did not go to the mosque, he did not pray, he did not observe Ramadan.'He drank alcohol, ate pork and took drugs. This is all forbidden under Islam. 'He was not a Muslim, he was a s***. 'He beat his wife, my cousin, he was a nasty piece of work.' Yesterday, he was stopped by police just hours before he crushed scores of people underneath the wheels of his 25 tonne truck and fired shots indiscriminately at police and innocent bystanders. He told officers that he was delivering ice-cream to the area and was allowed to park on the waterfront for several hours. Horrifying footage of the moment the truck turned into a deadly juggernaut were uploaded online within minutes, showing a trail of dead bodies left in its path. Bouhlel's wife was taken into protective custody by police this morning. Detectives had raided the 12th floor apartment she had shared with her estranged husband in the early hours of the morning and another rented property nearby. Four others have been arrested on suspicion of being part of Bouhlel's 'close entourage'.

2016-07-17 00:39 Sam Tonkin www.dailymail.co.uk

79 Nice promenade reopens after lorry massacre Tourists have returned to the promenade in Nice where scores of people were mown down in a lorry attack as it reopened amid the news France is to call up thousands of reserve forces to boost security. The Promenade des Anglais reopened around 36 hours after Thursday's attack which saw 84 people killed and more than 200 injured after a lorry was driven through throngs of revellers celebrating Bastille Day. Holidaymakers walked along the waterside stretch on Saturday, which is lined with hotels and restaurants, while police officers kept watch. Flowers, cards and messages of solidarity marked the spots where bodies had been left strewn on the road in the aftermath of the massacre. Candles burned late into the night as crowds gathered once again in memory of those killed and injured. The Islamic State group has claimed lorry driver Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel was "a soldier" acting on its behalf by committing the murders. The IS claim of responsibility came after the French authorities said Bouhlel had no known links with terrorists, unlike those behind previous attacks in Paris. And a former neighbour said the 31 year old had never spoken about extremism. Bouhlel drove a 19-tonne hired lorry at speed into masses of people before he was shot dead by police. Speaking outside the high-rise block of flats on Boulevard Henri Sappia, where the suspect had previously lived with his family, Samiq, 19, who did not want to give his surname, said: "I never heard him speak about extremism, I cannot believe that he was a member of Islamic State. " He said people thought Bouhlel had psychological problems. "He was a little bit crazy," he said, but he added that he was shocked by what had happened. The apartment on Route de Turin where Bouhlel was believed to be living before the attack was raided by police, and a view through the keyhole showed items including what appeared to be boxes of medication and a strip of tablets. The driver's father has said that Bouhlel had received psychiatric treatment in the past. A neighbour and her young daughter said he lived a reclusive life, failing to respond when they said hello. Interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve, who announced 12,000 extra police reserves are being called up alongside the 120,000 police and soldiers already in place across the country, said Bouhlel appeared to have been radicalised only recently. According to reports, his ex-wife was also being questioned. The woman who was estranged from him and had been subject to his domestic violence, was taken into custody for her own protection, French media reported. Five people have been arrested since the attack. Many people are still awaiting news of their loved ones either injured in hospital or missing since the attack. One man lost six members of his family, French media reported. An eyewitness said she saw people hanging on to the lorry in a desperate bid to stop the killing spree. Tita Siren, from Finland, was on holiday in the city and witnessed events from a hotel terrace. She said: "I recognised that one or two men were trying to open the door of the driver. They were hanging on the door so trying to save other people's lives. " She added: "The whole width of the truck was full of people in front of it and it just drove over the people and they fell, like the driver was bowling. "

2016-07-17 00:26 www.independent.ie

80 Australia eager to start free trade talks with Britain Australia has called for a free trade deal with Britain as soon as possible, in a boost for newly appointed prime minister Theresa May. In a phone call on Saturday, May spoke to her Australian counterpart, Malcolm Turnbull – who expressed his desire to open up trading between the two countries as a matter of urgency. There was, however, unsettling news for EU migrants who have recently arrived in the UKas the country’s new Brexit minister cast new doubt over their right to remain. May described the call with Turnbull as “very encouraging” and insisted it showed leaving the European Union could work for Britain. She tasked newly appointed international trade secretary Liam Fox to begin exploring options, but acknowledged that Britain could not sign any deals while it was still an EU member. May said: “I have been very clear that this government will make a success of our exit from the European Union. One of the ways we will do this is by embracing the opportunities to strike free trade deals with our partners across the globe. It is very encouraging that one of our closest international partners is already seeking to establish just such a deal. “This shows that we can make Brexit work for Britain, and the new secretary of state for international trade will be taking this forward in the weeks and months ahead. Britain is an outward-looking and globally minded country, and we will build on this as we forge a new role for ourselves in the world.” On Friday, May said told the Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, that she would not trigger article 50 to leave the EU before getting UK-wide agreement – a potentially difficult objective given that Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the bloc. But Fox claimed numerous non-EU countries had already asked Britain for a trade deal and said he was “scoping about a dozen free trade deals outside the EU to be ready for when we leave”, amid reports that he was preparing to fly to the US next week He told the Sunday Times: “We’ve already had a number of countries saying, ‘We’d love to do a trade deal with the world’s fifth biggest economy without having to deal with the other 27 members of the EU’.” David Davis, the minister for Brexit, has said EU citizens may be blocked from staying in Britain permanently even if they arrive before the country leaves the union. He said the government may have to take a tough line with EU immigrants who come to the UK before Brexit happens, and therefore get the automatic right to stay permanently under free movement rules. May has said immigration could rise in the short term if EU citizens feel they need to get to Britain before it leaves and can impose controls on European immigration. Asked about a potential spike in immigration numbers, Davis told the Mail on Sunday: “We may have to deal with that. There are a variety of possibilities. We may have to say that the right to indefinite leave to remain protection only applies before a certain date. But you have to make those judgments on reality, not speculation.” He stopped short of guaranteeing the status of EU nationals already in the country, a position for which May has received fierce criticism from across the political spectrum. He said: “We will get a generous settlement for EU migrants here now and a generous settlement for British citizens in the EU.” He also reasserted his belief that the EU would grant Britain access to the single market as well as a suspension of free movement rules, something which European leaders have so far ruled out. “Everybody is taking starting positions,” he said. “Of course they are talking tough. If I was negotiating to buy your house or your car my first offer wouldn’t be my final one, would it?” He is part of a triumvirate of Brexit-backing new cabinet ministers, alongside Fox and Boris Johnson – the foreign secretary, tasked with pulling the country out of the EU. Davis admitted that “even within government there’ll be tensions” over Brexit, but revealed of his new job: “If you’d said six months ago I would be sitting here doing this with Theresa as prime minister I would have said you must be on something. It still feels dream-like.” Johnson, who will travel to Brussels for an EU foreign ministers summit beginning on Monday, insisted the country can now become “Global Britain”. He wrote in the Sunday Express that leaving the EU “gives us a chance not just to do new trade deals, but to think of ourselves once again as a truly Global Britain using our unique voice – humane, compassionate, principled – to do good around the world, and to exploit growth markets to the full.”

2016-07-17 00:20 Press Association www.theguardian.com

81 'I feel so empty... it's like my heart has been torn out': Grieving father is left devastated after his son, four, was flung 30ft through the air to his death in Nice massacre A Grieving father caught up in the Nice massacre has spoken of his heartbreak over the death of his four- year-old son. Mickael Coviaux and his wife had taken their only child Yannis out to play on the beach with friends before watching the Bastille Day fireworks. As they walked back to their car, the boy was mown down by the lorry being driven by terrorist Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel. Yannis was left with fatal injuries after his tiny body was flung 30ft through the air. The lorry missed Mickael and his wife by inches. ‘I feel completely empty, as if somebody has torn out my heart,’ Mr Coviaux said. He told how he later cradled his son in his arms and ‘stared out at the sea’ after the atrocity as he tried to process what had happened. Mr Coviaux said: ‘It was my wife who insisted that we went out to see the fireworks to make Yannis happy. ‘We were sitting on the beach with my wife’s friend, her nieces and her two children. ‘Yannis was delighted – he was messing around with his pals. It was a beautiful evening. ‘At the end of the fireworks we went up to the Promenade des Anglais to get back to our car. My son was a little further on with his friends.’ Seeing the lorry suddenly veering towards them, Mr Coviaux said he pulled his wife to safety but could not save his son. ‘The lorry passed within ten centimetres of me,’ he said. ‘I went to the floor and when I got up there was this crowd around us. 'I was praying to God that Yannis was safe and sound but then I saw him lying 20 metres in front of me. He was covered in blood. ‘I understood what had happened straight away.’ Mr Coviaux said he ‘didn’t want to believe he was dead’ and that he picked up his child and began running ‘like a madman’ towards the nearest hospital a mile away. After sprinting 600 yards along the road with his son in his arms, Mr Coviaux said he bundled him into a car full of strangers also en route to the hospital before they spotted an ambulance ahead of them in the road. Paramedics began their attempts to save the boy and Mr Coviaux said he then ran back up the promenade to find his wife, where he was confronted by another tragic scene. He said: ‘Selfishly, in the panic, I only thought of my own family. But then I saw my wife’s friend lying in the road. ‘She was dying in the street in front of her own children. ‘My wife and I went to the hospital to see Yannis but the doctors simply told me it is all over. They gave me a white sheet and left us. My wife was screaming. ‘I stayed there for a long time cradling my son in the white sheet, staring at the sea. I held my baby in my arms, my baby who died at the beach. ‘He was four- and-a-half years old and we called him our little rascal. Once he was on the beach he never wanted to leave. His loved throwing pebbles into the sea. My last certainty is my son died happy. It was a lovely day. Yannis died with a smile on his face.’ Another grieving father Tahar Mejri, 39, wailed and raised his arms in despair as it was confirmed he had lost both his wife Olfa and son Kylian, four, in the attack. Mr Mejri had already found his wife’s body on the promenade on Thursday night after she and their son had gone out without him to watch the fireworks. He then spent two days frantically searching for his son at hospitals across Nice before medics confirmed his worst fears.

2016-07-17 00:19 Michael Powell www.dailymail.co.uk

82 Herbert cliffhanger: why Queensland marginals hold the key to Labor's fate in 2019 Queensland plays a key role in every federal election. Out of the 30 seats in the state, up to 10 were in play in 2016. While Labor gained substantial swings in many Queensland seats, and came close to winning at least five, they appear to have only won a single seat in the northern state, with the possibility of a second seat in late counting. Labor gained large swings in many seats but these swings were mostly not in the seats that were most marginal, with Labor falling short in the two Queensland seats that were the most marginal Coalition seats in the country. Labor has gained the seat of Longman off Wyatt Roy. Roy held Longman with a 6.9% margin but lost the seat after Labor gained a 7.75% swing. The Liberal National party also suffered large swings in Dickson (5.1%), Flynn (5.5%), Dawson (4.3%) and Forde (3.8%) but fell short of winning all five. Labor has gained a 6.1% swing in the Townsville-area seat of Herbert , held by Ewen Jones, and the seat is extremely close. At the time of writing, the LNP leads by only 12 votes and the seat is far too close to call. While there were some big swings, Labor failed to gain the seats of Petrie and Capricornia, the two most marginal Coalition seats in Australia. Labor gained only 0.15% extra in Capricornia and suffered a 1.1% swing to the LNP in Petrie. In the inner-city marginal seat of Brisbane, the LNP increased their vote by 1.7%. Marginal seats in Queensland will be even more critical to the next federal election. Assuming the LNP holds on in Herbert, Labor will need to gain eight seats to win a majority in 2019. Four of the five most marginal Coalition seats are in Queensland, with eight Queensland seats held by the LNP by less than 4%. The swing to Labor was weakest in central Brisbane. The LNP gained ground in the seats of Brisbane, Ryan and Griffith, and Labor made little progress in the marginal seat of Bonner. Labor did better in the outer suburbs of Brisbane. They strengthened their hold on the southern Brisbane seats of Oxley and Rankin, and came close to winning Forde. Labor gained big swings in the northern Brisbane seats of Longman and Dickson although, as mentioned before, they lost ground in Petrie. Four seats on the Great Barrier Reef are all key marginal seats but there was a big variation in the swings in these seats. Labor made practically no progress in Capricornia, while gaining big swings in the safer neighbouring seats of Dawson, Flynn and Herbert. Herbert, Flynn and Capricornia are now all in the top five most marginal seats in the country, while Dawson is also more marginal than at the last few elections. It was hard to imagine before now but these marginal seats in central Queensland may be even more crucial to the result in 2019.

2016-07-17 00:11 Ben Raue www.theguardian.com

83 Why Brexit may be a deadly experiment for science P ublic scientific research is one of Britain’s great unsung industries. Its turnover is around £8bn, it employs some 100,000 researchers and it leads the world. After the US, we produce more cited research papers than anyone else. We’re not as good as we should be in translating all that effort into companies, products and services. But without its stimulus, our moderate levels of private business research, itself employing another 150,000 researchers, would be even lower. Nonetheless, as a self-standing industry, public scientific research is one of our most competitive and a top exporter. Or it was. It is one of the many areas of our economic life likely to take an irreparable hit as Britain leaves the EU. Britain’s leadership position was built on the excellence of its science, capacity to attract talent and the extraordinary ability of its scientists to build international networks bidding for EU research money. The EU is spending £70bn on scientific research in its Horizon 2020 programme: up until 23 June, more of it was being allocated to British-led partnerships than any other member state. Three-quarters of all the increase in scientific funding to universities has come from the EU over the last few years. Just as importantly, science has long since gone international, whatever Ukip and Tory Brexiters may think; the world’s biggest research base and generator of science is the EU: 64% of British scientific research is built on international collaborations, unerpinned by EU funding, now contributing nearly one in five research pounds spent in British universities. Researchers from Europe, joining these collaborations, could live in Britain freely. Unless Boris Johnson and lead Brexit negotiator David Davis stop babbling about possible trade deals years hence outside the EU and become unexpectedly non-ideological and nimble – and Theresa May and home secretary, Amber Rudd, very pragmatic about immigration – British science is about to be very badly hurt. Mike Galsworthy, director of Scientists for EU, already reports 378 responses to his Brexit impact monitoring database. Over a quarter have encountered problems with being part of consortiums bidding for intensely competitive Horizon 2020 funding. Everyone fears the risks in a few years of having non-EU Britain as a partner. Worse still are reports of xenophobia cited by EU research scientists in their daily life in buses, trains, shops and from neighbours. Word is spreading fast: don’t come to Britain. From being at the heart of European scientific research, Britain is going to the margins, with incalculable consequences for our knowledge base, the standing of our universities and research jobs. It is the same across the board. All the relatively strong parts of our otherwise weak economy have built their strength on EU membership and after more than 40 years the links are deep – and very expensive to unravel. The single market offers a “passport” to all member state companies, allowing them to do business anywhere in the EU without further certification or regulation. Banks and insurance companies have already begun quietly moving their bases to within the EU to sustain their ability to trade via the bank passport: Airbus at last week’s Farnborough airshow made the same point – it did not want to plough through thousands of pages of UK regulations to invest in Britain. Rolls-Royce similarly. Bank of England agents across the country report that the majority of investment proposals have been frozen; inward investment has trickled to nothing. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors reports the sharpest fall in expectations of rising house prices since 2004. This has all the ingredients of not just a Brexit recession but one followed by protracted stagnation. I think the risks of a credit crunch are understated, despite the Bank of England allowing banks to use more of their capital buffer to support new lending. Property prices for farmland and commercial property are dependent on either the common agricultural policy supporting farmland prices or the nearly 500 multinationals headquartered in Britain demanding office space because of our access to the single market. Prices could plunge, with huge loan write-downs inevitable. Moreover, as the Bank of England’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, recently remarked in an important speech , the British recovery is much more anaemic than widely reported. “So far at least,” he said, “this has been a recovery for the too few rather than the too many, a recovery delivering a little too little rather than far too much.” It has been a jobs rich but pay poor recovery, with half of UK households seeing no increase in their disposable income since 2005 – a lost decade of income. It has been the young and those in the regions who have suffered worst. Brexit will make all this much worse, but badly handled by the Brexiters catapulted into leading the negotiations, it could morph into a catastrophe. David Davis airily dismissed these risks in an article for ConservativeHome before his appointment. His favoured option was for Britain to trade with the EU under essentially World Trade Organisation rules in a dreamland where there are only benefits and no costs. Theresa May is trying hard; including Scotland in the talks as she has promised makes Brexiter stupidity a bit less likely. All the country’s economic constituencies – manufacturing, science, the creative industries, energy, finance – need to make it plain as the recession gathers momentum how crucial it is that we stay as close to the EU as possible and demand their role in the talks too, as should parliament. Sixteen million of us voted to remain: many who voted to leave will reconsider as the facts that were withheld by a propagandist press and callow, cowed BBC become more obvious. The country was lied to by the hard right and its allies on a scale not witnessed in our history. To argue that the resulting vote at one moment in time represents Britain’s last word on the matter is a travesty of democracy, especially as the consequences unfold. Democracies discuss and debate, especially when they risk going over a cliff. It may take the 16 million to form a new political party to make the case as Labour dies. It’s our country too and we don’t need to live in a xenophobic economic dead zone.

2016-07-17 00:05 Will Hutton www.theguardian.com

84 Labour has the stench of death – meet the killers S eumas Milne remains on the staff of the Guardian and Observer while Labour pays him to work as its director of strategy. As a colleague on leave, he has the right to be treated with a gentleness journalists would not usually extend to spin doctors who do not enjoy his advantages. I therefore write with the caution of a good corporate man and the cheeriness of a co-worker when I say Milne could not do a better job of keeping the Tories in power if rogue MI5 agents had groomed him at Winchester College, signed him up at Oxford University and instructed him to infiltrate and destroy the Labour party. He is what the far left becomes when it crashes through the looking glass. Milne defended Stalin’s one-party communist state but is now turning England into a one-party Tory state. He says he fights for the working class and dispossessed, while ensuring the continuation of a rightwing government that will protect the interests of his upper-middle class. He says he is a socialist but bends the knee and doffs the cap to Putin’s capitalist kleptocracy. He says he is principled, but what is striking about Milne and the rest of the Corbyn “insurgency” is their vacuity. For what is the far left now? What does it want? It will tell you at length what it is against, but what is it for? Corbyn’s and Milne’s equivalents in the 1930s knew who they were. They were Marxists. They wanted the state to control the means of production, distribution and exchange. They had a kind of integrity but their precision was their undoing. An audience would applaud as they denounced inequality and oppression. For who wants to support oppression? But when the old Marxists told their listeners that communism was the solution, most decided they wanted nothing to do with totalitarian control. Their successors have no ideology, only an L-shaped hole where a leftwing programme should be. Example: even I was impressed when Corbyn and McDonnell persuaded the best leftwing economists to advise them. I should have known better. “Danny” Blanchflower told me that all he ever heard was “Jeremy is against austerity”. Good, Blanchflower replied, but what policies should we pursue? Answer came there none. Blanchflower resigned. Thomas Piketty never attended a meeting and the whereabouts of Joseph Stiglitz remain a mystery. The further you peer into it, the deeper the L-shaped hole becomes. Corbyn is against imperialism, except when the imperialist is Milne’s Russia. He wants to stop Trident but said we should still spend billions building worthless submarines without nuclear warheads to keep the unions happy. The cowardice of it all is shameful. But consider the political advantages. Three-quarters of Labour members are middle class and just over half have a degree. A practical programme of redistribution would not only hurt the super-rich but them too. Large numbers would hurt enough to think again about giving Corbyn support. Instead of asking them to bear pain, the 21st- century far left allows them to enjoy socialism without tears. Contrary to Stalin’s apologists, it maintains you can make an omelette without breaking eggs. Anyone can be against austerity and poverty, spin and the Westminster bubble, the bankers and the corporations, if there is no price to pay. Students can project their hopes on to the blank slate Corbyn offers them. Old soixante-huitards and the militants of the Thatcher era can refight the battles of their youth as painlessly as the Sealed Knot refights the Civil War. Wykehamist Marxists can stand shoulder to shoulder with exhibitionist celebrities; wild intellectuals with the justifiably furious shop stewards. Empty leftism gave Corbyn control of the Labour party, but little else. He has the lowest popularity rating of any opposition leader in history. The public sees a political movement that doesn’t want to govern them and does not much like them either. Government necessarily involves the trade-offs the far left pretends need never trouble us. Labour’s founding constitution of 1918 said its first purpose was to establish and retain, in parliament and in the country, a political Labour party. The far left has to reject it because it can never win elections without losing its illusions. As the opposition collapsed last week, Paul Mason insisted that Labour must be transformed from a party that seeks to govern into a “social movement”. Mason, along with Michael Gove, Boris Johnson and Milne, is part of a group of journalists who have poisoned public life by taking braggart swagger and cocksure certainties of newspaper punditry into politics. But in this instance, he was authentically reflecting “the people” or, rather, that tiny section of “the people” who pay £3 and click on a link to show they agree with him. Jon Lansman, head of Momentum backed him and declared in words that should be engraved on his tomb that “winning is the small bit that matters to elites that want to keep power themselves”. Only a smug member of the haute bourgeoisie could come out with such a reckless justification for perpetual rightwing rule. Vacuity leads not only to political impotence but political fear. Uncomprehending hatred fills the empty space where policy should be and brings with it the threat of violence that hovers above Labour like yellow cigarette smoke in a Munich beer hall. It was thought that the killing of Jo Cox might alter the mood. But the misogyny, homophobia, antisemitism, death threats, rape threats and insane conspiracy theories against Labour MPs endure. The foul climate shows that Corbynism has sociopathic consequences. When his supporters believe that all they need do to oppose austerity, the bankers, etc, is to say they are against them, then, by definition, their opponents cannot have honest objections, only evil intentions. Like sin, they must be purged. If you are going to fight the heirs of communism, you should not accept Marxist theories of historical inevitability. Labour has vast problems but it does not need to be reduced to a rump of seats in London and Lancashire. Millions want the parliamentary opposition Labour’s founders promised. They need it now when the right has taken the opportunity the far left has gifted them to go on the rampage. There is one prediction about the Labour party I can make, however: if Corbyn does not go, and Labour does not change, it is inevitable that the whiff of violence will be replaced by the stench of its death.

2016-07-17 00:05 Nick Cohen www.theguardian.com

85 Labour is miles away from government, says man out to replace Corbyn R eceiving his “frothy coffee” in Pontypridd’s Prince’s cafe, Owen Smith stopped mid-sentence to express some amusement. “I tell you it is the first time I have ever been given little biscuits and a posh cup in here,” Smith said, looking up at the owner David Gamberini, as his order was placed on the table. “Seriously, I would have a mug normally,” the MP added, examining the refreshments in front of him. It emerged that behind the counter there had been a discussion about how to mark the arrival of a journalist from the Observer . “He’s come from London,” Gamberini explained to the MP, who is seeking to become the 25th leader of the Labour party. Familiarity breeds contempt. Prince’s, one of a handful of handsome Italian cafes in Pontypridd that were founded by émigrés who came to the Welsh valleys after the second world war, is described by Smith as his “unofficial campaign headquarters”. Yet, as it stands, the recently resigned shadow work and pensions secretary is unlikely to hold out much hope for the red carpet treatment anywhere in the country. He is largely unknown to the general public, as John Humphrys kindly pointed out to him on the BBC’s Today programme last week. Even his rival in the battle to be the so-called “unity candidate” to challenge Jeremy Corbyn’s beleaguered leadership, Angela Eagle , has more name recognition after her 25 years in parliament, albeit you would be unlikely to hear her spoken of down at the metaphorical Dog and Duck. And the Smith campaign has taken a while to grind out of first gear. The MP’s brother has been seriously ill, only leaving hospital last week. The candidate says he had no forewarning of the events that have blown Labour apart in the last fortnight. And Team Smith’s official launch, now due for Sunday, was postponed due to events in Nice. Yet it is to the MP for Pontypridd that Westminster watchers believe MPs are turning in the larger numbers (around 90 and counting, it is believed), and across Labour’s political spectrum, as the ceiling looks ever more likely to fall in on the party. The father-of-three’s selling point to the members is that he has not been part of any plot and was an enthusiastic convert to Corbynism when Andy Burnham, his preferred leader, came a distant second in the contest last September. “I think Jeremy has been a fillip to the Labour party in lots of ways and let us get back to a more traditional left Labour position, one in which I am more comfortable than arguably I have been at any point,” he said. But, while in agreement with Labour’s governing body, the National Executive Committee, that Corbyn should be on the ballot paper in the leadership contest, Smith nevertheless decided to resign and oppose his leader when a meeting between Corbyn and the so-called soft left of the shadow cabinet, including shadow energy secretary Lisa Nandy, led to rancour. “We asked to meet with Jeremy on his own and John McDonnell barged in a couple of minutes in,” Smith said of the meeting held in the wake of Corbyn’s sacking of shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn and at the start of mass frontbench resignations. “I said: ‘I’m worried that, if not you, others around you are sanguine about the party splitting, otherwise I think you would be looking to compromise.’ Jeremy had no answer to that. “John McDonnell, who was getting increasingly irate during the meeting, just shrugged his shoulders when I asked him directly if he wants to split the party. He said: ‘If that is what it takes’.” The account has been described as “complete rubbish” by McDonnell. Smith said he had further meetings with Corbyn as resignations from the front bench came thick and fast. He suggested to Corbyn he could be elevated to the position of “president or chair”, and that his legacy could be underpinned by a rewriting of clause four to commit the party to delivering equality. “He said: ‘I am not going to do anything other than sticking in where I am.’ ” In truth, though, for all the efforts to protect Corbyn’s pride, Smith admits he had long shared the doubts of his colleagues about the person leading them. “Man-management is clearly not a great skill of Jeremy’s,” said Smith, perhaps understating what many of his colleagues have come to conclude was not just an irritating foible but an inexcusable failure of a man who professes a desire to be prime minister. The Observer has learned that the MP for Bristol West, Thangam Debbonaire, learned of her appointment in January as a shadow arts minister when the communist newspaper, the Morning Star , in receipt of a press release, called her office. She was being treated for cancer at the time. When Corbyn subsequently learned that someone else was already carrying out part of the role, he unappointed her 48 hours later without informing her, only to reappoint her when Debbonaire sought and belatedly received a meeting. “That’s what he was like to me when I had cancer,” Debbonaire said, when approached for comment. It has emerged that the popular Neale Coleman, his chief of staff, resigned when the leader announced a policy on banning dividend payments by companies that didn’t pay the minimum wage without consulting him. The shadow health secretary, Heidi Alexander, had to stage a physical sit-in outside Corbyn’s office in order to get a decision from him on Labour party policy on the NHS. And Corbyn took nine months of badgering to agree to meet the major environmental charities, including Greenpeace and the RSPB, only for him to cancel it when the shadow environment secretary, Kerry McCarthy, who had been organising the event, resigned a fortnight ago. And Smith has had his own frustrations to share too. “On [the government’s U-turn on cuts to] tax credits and personal independence payments [to the disabled], I led those campaigns. I didn’t get any instruction or leadership from Jeremy about that,” said Smith. “He was quick to talk about them once we had secured the victories. And on Europe I don’t blame Jeremy for Brexit, but he was pretty half-hearted. “I don’t think he ever really understood the scale of the disaster. Arguably why would he? It wasn’t something he really talked about before. In fact, he advocated it.” Smith is proposing a second referendum on the terms of Brexit and believes there “is a chance” that the UK will not leave the EU if there is a credible Labour party to make the case. Those complaints could, of course, be dismissed as the negative briefings that accompany any dispute over the leadership of a political party. Smith himself has been on the end of some of those sorts of complaints from both the Eagle and Corbyn camps in recent days, in particular about his past employment at the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, where he was once director of corporate affairs. In some eyes such links, along with some warm comments a decade ago about public finance initiative (PFI) projects, are suggestive of an impure socialist faith. But it is Smith’s response to those concerns that, perhaps, gets to the heart of why so many in the parliamentary Labour party believe that the fight to remove Corbyn from his post is, in fact, a fight over whether Labour is to be a social movement using parliament merely as a platform or a party seeking power through the Commons, and making compromises along the way. “I’m not a Marxist,” said Smith, who now admits that PFI was a failure. “I’m someone who believes that we live in a capitalist society and that the Labour party is about trying to achieve socialism within that. “Ameliorating the situation, not overthrowing it by revolution, is what we are about. It is the parliamentary route we have taken. And therefore we have got to understand that business is a vital part of our society.” Whether Smith or Eagle are to be on the ballot sheet alongside Corbyn is not yet at all clear, but a majority of MPs are clear it must only be one of them. A hustings for the benefit of MPs will take place in a room at the Commons at 1pm on Monday, and MPs will be able to nominate up until 5pm on Wednesday. Perhaps more importantly, there is a scramble now to sign people up to pay £25 during a 48-hour window starting on Monday to become registered supporters and have a say in the coming leadership contest. A mysterious group called Saving Labour, which declines to comment on its leadership or funding – allegedly for fear of being abused– is organising over a hundred street stalls, paying for content on Facebook and even mounting an advertising campaign in the pages of the Guardian and the Observer in order to collect voters who will oppose Corbyn. The author JK Rowling has tweeted in support to her seven-milllion-plus followers. Friendly constituency party chairmen are being encouraged to call up lapsed members or the two million people who agree to have Labour billboards in their front gardens at elections and ask them to rally to the cause. On the other side Momentum, with help from the Unite and the TSSA transport union, is planning rallies and its own street stalls and has organised a series of “emergency phone banks” to accumulate backers for its candidate. This might be the rebirth of Labour, in one way or another, or quite possibly the beginning of the end. Smith, a self-styled ideological follower of Nye Bevan, the postwar Labour health secretary and founder of the NHS, admits to fears about what may come. “We have never been more relevant as we teeter on the brink of another recession, as we have gone through six years of Tories and a decade of declining wages, greater job insecurity and no social democratic response to globalisation,” he said. “We have never been more relevant and we have never been further from government... But Bevan for me was right. It is the Labour party or it is nothing.”

2016-07-17 00:05 Daniel Boffey www.theguardian.com

86 Labour needs a debate that will put our party’s house in order “Don’t mistake debate for division. Don’t mistake democracy for disunity.” Those were the words of John McDonnell last September and, though he and I often disagree, I was with him on this. Labour had just lost badly, and there needed to be a discussion in which no ideas were off the table. Fast-forward 10 months and the party is as divided and disunited as I can remember. The current leadership has settled into a sectarian comfort zone – the effect of this has been to provoke personal attacks on MPs, a string of death and rape threats and bricks through windows. This threatens to destroy the party I love and have served as an active member, trade unionist, MP, minister and shadow minister, for 40 years. Betrayal narratives do not unite; they divide and Labour will pay a huge price if this is allowed to continue. But it’s not too late to get our house in order and I know I can unite us again. I’m a gay, working-class woman from the north of England and proud of who I am. The progress I made was only possible because of the achievements of previous Labour governments giving opportunities to all. Contrary to our message at the local elections in May, politics is not about taking sides – or, at least, it shouldn’t be. It is about seeking common ground and finding mutual understanding. If centrist Labour members are “Tory scum”, then what of the hard-up pensioner who is uneasy with immigration in his community? What of the hi-tech chief executive donating to charity, the underpaid waitress saving to go to Ascot, or the many other category-defying voters out there? As a progressive party of principle we must reach out to all. We have an imperative to locate the shared values we have with someone tempted by Ukip or a Tory swing-voter, and to persuade them – not just because it’s the only way we’ll win power, but because it’s the right thing to do. The “kinder politics” will not come just through believing ourselves to hold a monopoly on what is right and moral. This process of mutual respect and understanding must start within the Labour party – and within this leadership contest itself. Good policy does not come from slogans, but from discourse. This was the central failure of Jeremy’s leadership. Virtually no policy has come from Jeremy. On Trident, for example, most people know that he is anti. But his review on Trident was delayed “because of Brexit”. And then Brexit itself. Jeremy appeared to think that by appearing on television and saying he was seven out of 10 in favour of staying in Europe this would appeal to people who were not sure themselves. Instead it just gave them permission to vote Leave. He should have been making the case to stay in Europe, arguing its merits passionately. He didn’t. I desperately want us to tackle the big issues of post-Brexit Britain. An economy starved of investment. Our regions suffering and London starting to sputter. I want more tolerance and more respect in our country; I want to give life chances to young people and not stop them going to university. Despite what social media memes claimed – and some journalists have lazily repeated – I led the backbench rebellion against the introduction of tuition fees, achieving a 10-year cap at £3,000, the creation of the Office for Fair Access and the reintroduction of student grants for the poorest. I voted against the tripling to £9,000. I want to ensure that our place in the world remains one of influence, because I believe Britain, with its history of democracy, the rule of law, human rights, tolerance and a vibrant economy, is one that can inspire others. If we fail, the great losers in this will not be the Tories, but the millions of voters Labour exists to help. I am determined to lead the party into a debate that gives us the policies and arguments to save Labour from irrelevance and to put us back into government, where we can make a real difference to people’s lives.

2016-07-17 00:05 John Crace www.theguardian.com

87 87 London is the world’s greatest city; we cannot sit back and do nothing about the rough sleeping crisis I am committed to tackling London’s housing crisis in whatever form it takes – and the rise in rough sleeping over recent years is a growing source of shame that we have a moral imperative to stop. People end up on the street for many different reasons – leaving care or hospital, problems with debt, unemployment, mental health, family breakup – and so the help they need is varied too. We can support some rough sleepers, particularly when they have become homeless recently, through programmes such as No Second Night Out. In more entrenched cases, a more intensive intervention may be needed, as a one-size-fits-all approach does not always work. We can promote innovative approaches by making our funding conditional on achieving results – an approach that has proved successful in helping people access and remain in stable accommodation. But, crucially, we need not only to help rough sleepers on the street, but also to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place – and that’s why I’ll be launching a No Nights Sleeping Rough taskforce with prevention central to its approach. This new taskforce will bring together all the agencies we need to tackle rough sleeping as we will only make a difference through close partnership. My team is discussing with the sector how to make this new approach as effective as possible, but it’s likely that the new group will set the strategic priorities for services the mayor provides, come up with proposals for new initiatives and projects, and lobby government for the changes we need. In the world’s greatest city we cannot sit back and do nothing in the face of the rising rough sleeping we have inherited. A Labour mayor and government dramatically reduced rough sleeping at the start of this century and I’m determined we’ll do it again. Making a difference won’t be easy, but I will lead the way.

2016-07-17 00:04 Sadiq Khan www.theguardian.com

88 88 Eyewitnesses describe chaos on streets of Nice NICE – Residence of Nice are still in shock after the terrorist attack here on Thursday night, at the famous seaside Promenade des Anglais, in which 84 people were killed and hundreds wounded. Alexandra, 19, from the nearby town of Cagnes-sur- Mer, came to Nice with three other girlfriends to celebrate Bastille Day. “I came here with my friends to watch the fireworks, to have some beers and to stroll along the promenade,” Alexandra said. “We do this every year – it’s like a ritual. The beach here is beautiful, and the atmosphere is always festive. There were hundreds of people around us, lots of families with kids, tourists and young people. Everybody was celebrating, and the atmosphere was festive and calm. We watched the fireworks from the seaside. “Suddenly we heard booms – like shooting. People started running east. So we also ran, until a policeman stopped our group. He told us that we should keep going as far as possible, as they were not sure if the attack was over or not. Further on, another police officer searched us, including our hand bags. Some passersby offered us to stay at their apartment on the beach for a while, so we could calmly call our families.” Dominique, a taxi driver working in Nice, told The Jerusalem Post that he had taken several traumatized tourists in his car, driving them for free back to their hotels. “I was driving not far away from the promenade, on a side street, when I suddenly heard some noises, but I didn’t much think of it,” said Dominique. “I just thought it was the sounds of the traditional July 14 fireworks display. Then people started running all over the place. I saw that many of them were bewildered, and that one of them – a man in his 50s, I think – was crying. I opened the car door and offered to drive them to their hotel. They wouldn’t calm down.” Other witnesses described how the commotion was terrible. Jean B., a father of a little girl and a toddler, came to Nice from Paris on vacation. “The noise was awful,” he said. “People were running and shouting. I took up my two kids, each in one arm, and told my wife to stick with me, that we must run. No one was telling us what was going on. It was just a huge crowd running in all directions. I saw a coffee shop on the sidewalk and walked in – they welcomed us, and called people in the street to come in as well. In there, we felt safe.” Ronen Mordoch, an Israeli, arrived in Nice with his wife and their two sons just minutes before the attack took place. “Our plane was a bit late,” he told the Post. “We rented a car and started driving towards the city. Then we saw a white truck going strangely. We thought there was an accident. Someone stood in the middle of the street and signaled that we should turn to the left – away from the sea side. It was a citizen, not a policeman. He insisted, and prevented us from continuing. I understood that something was wrong and turned left, driving over the middle-street obstacle. My eldest son realized quickly that there was a terrorist attack. We are so lucky. If we would have been just a few minutes earlier there, we would have found ourselves in the middle of it.” Natalie, 27, working at the George Pompidou medical clinic in Nice, was supposed to end her shift at midnight. “I was almost about to leave when we received notification about a serious incident,” Natalie said. “Within minutes, ambulances started bringing in people who were injured. Some people came in on their own, covered with blood. There were others who just wanted to talk to someone and feel secure. Unfortunately, some of those who were gravely wounded didn’t make it. For the moment, all the personnel here are working at full capacity.”

2016-07-17 00:04 Rina Bassist www.jpost.com

89 The Observer view on the Labour party L ast week, Theresa May vowed on the steps of Downing Street to fight the “burning injustice” of inequality and to lead a government driven not by the interests of the privileged few, but by the needs of ordinary families. Only time will tell if this is the ambitious vision of a leader who wants her legacy to be much more than the successful negotiation of Britain’s exit from the European Union. In her words, there were some shades of continuity with David Cameron, who liberally deployed the rhetoric of fairness throughout his own tenure at Number 10. But while Cameron borrowed from Blair, May’s pitch had an altogether different flavour: a greater emphasis on Blue Labour concerns of class and culture and on Miliband-style, long-term economic reform. Will this rhetoric translate into action? Or will her government go the way of the Cameron-Osborne years, marked by symbolic policies designed to show off reformist credentials such as a higher national minimum wage and devolution to the northern cities, but which were more than offset by the damage caused by the government’s broader approach to economic and social policy? A genuine commitment to the vision she set out will not, by itself, be enough: she faces the most difficult governing circumstances of any postwar prime minister. The first clues about the type of government May will lead lie in her decisions about her cabinet. Most striking was her appointment of a series of leading Brexiters to the top outward-facing jobs. In doing so, she has ensured some of her party’s most prominent backers of Leave will be involved not just in negotiating Britain’s terms of trade with the world post-Brexit, but in selling that deal to the country. But it comes at a cost. There is little to suggest David Davis, who, as the minister in charge of Brexit negotiations, now holds one of the most important jobs in government, understands just how difficult they will be. His reading of how events will play out is naive: he wants to trigger article 50 by the beginning of next year and believes we s hould have trade deals with the rest of the world agreed within a year or two. Boris Johnson’s elevation to the job of Britain’s top diplomat sends an unfortunate message to the world: that the job of foreign secretary is not one that our new prime minister takes seriously. Why else appoint a man with a fondness for casually racist jokes? A man who fabricated anti-European tropes as a journalist and likened the woman likely to be the next president of the United States to “a sadistic nurse in a mental hospital”. In 2002, he referred to Africans as “ flag-waving piccaninnies ”. And during the recent EU referendum campaign he likened the EU to the Third Reich. Not to mention having being sacked for being “less than frank” (ie lying) with a previous Tory leader. If being an insulting, juvenile, cavalier liar is what you want in your foreign secretary, then Boris Johnson is an excellent choice. Otherwise, it’s the most dispiriting part of the new cabinet that May chose to reward a narcissistic buffoon with the opportunity to represent Britain to the world. As the former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt said: “I wish it was a joke, but I fear it isn’t.” It isn’t. He is. This suggests that foreign policy lingers low on the list of May priorities and that, in the wake of Brexit, Britain will become increasingly shy of its wider international responsibilities. More promisingly, May has appointed moderate reformers to key areas of domestic responsibility. But the real test will be the extent to which we will see a shift in direction on economic and social policy. Will new chancellor Philip Hammond, who has a reputation as a deficit hawk, be able to oversee a loosening of fiscal policy and the big investment in infrastructure needed to try and ward off some of the Brexit headwinds? If May is serious about easing the burden on working-class families, will she reverse Osborne’s tax-benefit cuts, which, even after his tax credit U-turn, hit low-income families with children the hardest? If she wants to tackle burning injustice, will she address the drastic cuts made to further education budgets, while universities have enjoyed on average a 30% increase in per-undergraduate funding? Will she stop the forced sale of council homes and divert inflationary demand-side subsidies such as help to buy towards building more homes instead? These are the tests by which her government should be held to account. In normal circumstances, that job falls first to the opposition. Yet in the last week, Labour has continued to slash away at itself to create self-inflicted wounds. It is failing on two significant levels. First, it shows absolutely no signs of confronting the existential question it faces which has seen its working-class base eroded as a result of decades of structural economic and cultural change. Ukip is about to lay siege to large tracts of its northern heartlands and unless Labour finds a way of reconnecting to working-class communities that feel it no longer speaks for them then the spoils will fall to Ukip at the next election. Second, the Labour party is failing in its duty of mounting an effective opposition – a role critical to a functioning of democracy. And last week, it became painfully clear that it is failing on an even more fundamental basis. The party is no longer even capable of providing a space for a respectful political discourse. Some of its MPs and elected officials are receiving death and rape threats, many from those who appear to be supporters of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. Last week, the party took the unprecedented step of suspending constituency party meetings until after the leadership election so as to avoid the risk of intimidation and abuse at local level. It is a grim state of affairs when one MP, Luciana Berger , received an email message saying: “You’re going to get it like Jo Cox did”; when party representatives detail the abuse and intimidation that they have been subjected to; when constituency staff have to contend with bricks being thrown through windows at their place of work. Much of the abuse is aimed at female MPs and many Labour insiders cite a growing misogyny among some of those activists who are deploying social media to campaign on behalf of Corbyn. The Labour leadership needs to be emphatic and persistent in denouncing this fetid, vile atmosphere that has emerged –coincidentally? – since they came to power 10 months ago. Corbyn voted against a secret ballot for the vote by the party’s national executive committee on whether he would need to secure nominations from his parliamentary colleagues to go on the leadership ballot – despite female representatives on that committee pleading for a secret ballot for fear of further harassment. No one emerges from this well. Not Corbyn, who has lost the support of 80% of his parliamentary party. Nor his opponents in the Labour party who have failed to articulate a clear, compelling alternative or settle on a candidate who might reasonably be expected to at least offer some degree of leadership in a party that is now led by a small group of embattled men with no interest in winning elections. Corbyn, the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, and the director of strategy, Seumas Milne, and a variety of ultra-left entryists are exercised by an urge to create an extra-parliamentary social movement. And that is fine – except that the Labour party is a parliamentary party. They should do the decent thing and let those who believe in parliamentary politics take up the reins while they engage in grassroots activism. The Labour party is at a crossroads. It can choose the slow road to intellectual renewal and the political rebuilding of its electoral base so that it can be a force again in parliament. That can only happen if it appeals to a far greater constituency than it does at present. And that will be a long, hard road. Or it can choose a much easier option and restrict itself to a narrow set of slogans that allow it to bathe in self-indulgence while the rest of the country turns its back or, more likely, turns to Ukip, the Tories, the Lib Dems or the Greens. This may be terrific for those activists who show disdain for actually winning elections, but will be less fun for that constituency of people who have historically relied on the party to work on its behalf in parliament. As Momentum’s grip strengthens on the party, it loses more and more momentum in the country at large. That’s the choice for Labour. There is no long-term guarantee for the party in this. The last 12 months have shown the ideas that might secure its future have not yet been developed and it is incumbent on some group or caucus to make this case. Only time will tell if Theresa May’s government will go the way of David Cameron’s: a platform for warm words about tackling unfairness and inequality that disguised a harsh reality in which life got harder for many of Britain’s least affluent families. But one thing is certain: without a functioning opposition, it’s easy to see what is the most likely outcome. • Comments will be opened later today

2016-07-17 00:03 Observer editorial www.theguardian.com

90 A lovely change from men only, then she called on Boris E ven before Theresa May committed her first outrage in office – the resurrection of Boris Johnson – the feminist response to her victory was strikingly tepid. You would hardly have guessed, from the fast-multiplying caveats, that this is only the second woman in Downing Street and her arrival a symbolic rebuke to a predecessor who spent most of his tenure not giving women jobs. Women prime ministers are not so commonplace, surely, that one can reasonably dismiss the new arrival for not being as fabulous, to pick a name at random, as Emily Thornberry or for being too much like Margaret Thatcher. There must be a limit to the number of female Tory leaders who can be formally unsexed, like Thatcher, so as to stop their success reflecting so badly on the astonishing marginalising of women in Britain’s progressive parties. It’s not disloyal to Labour, if a bit hurtful given its record, to cheer Theresa May. True, May’s arrival does not cancel the Tory record on sex discrimination, nor does her reshuffle constitute any useful commitment to equality. Only last week, the party’s pet fertility symbol Andrea Leadsom, worshipped by all its leading creeps, wanted to scrap maternity pay. It could, terrifyingly, have been Leadsom standing there instead. But in some ways, not being invested in her politics made May’s virtually overnight installation even more delicious, notably when she trashed her predecessor in terms that could have been uttered by a pre-Corbyn Labour leader – if Labour women were allowed to become leaders. The whole spectacle seemed unimprovable – until May refused to kiss her husband for the photographers, on the doorstep where male prime ministers since Tony Blair have PDA’d a submissive helpmeet. Rarely, in my admittedly limited experience of fandom, has euphoria turned so quickly to disenchantment. There was barely an hour between May’s superb non-kiss in Downing Street and the miracle of Boris Johnson. As a friend texted: “Oh fuck.” No wonder May is considered unreadable. Was it possible, given this haste, that the thing really going through her mind, as she directly addressed struggling working-class families, was how quickly she could summon the destroyer of their prospects from his exile in Islington, now that the city’s rush hour was under way? Would it be quicker – “We won’t entrench the advantages of the fortunate few” – if the Etonian came by bike? While others had to wait overnight for their orders, Johnson could not be left, even for another 10 minutes to worry about his future in the country he has, for wholly base reasons, demolished. Did Mrs May even, in her hurry to insult the entire world, ask Johnson to sacrifice his weekly newspaper column, in which he recently commended Putin for reaching out to Assad? Will she allow Johnson leisure, between reminding former parts of the British empire on what they have lost and advertising the racial heritage of the US president, to supplement his earnings with belle-lettrism, currently concerning the unignorable similarities between William Shakespeare and himself? Mrs May’s fangirls have been left to reflect on recent advice from feminists, such as Sophie Walker of the Women’s Equality party, not to applaud too loudly when a rightwing woman becomes prime minister. Even if, like May, she has not only espoused a range of women’s causes, but modelled a “This Is What a Feminist Looks Like” T-shirt. “We have lacked real female political leadership for so long,” Walker objected, in an article called Female, but not Feminist that “we have come to rely on tropes and symbols to signal a position. These shortcuts aren’t enough.” Possibly because I hail from the same, benighted era as Mrs May, I am more inclined to applaud her achievements, regardless of her T-shirt, since she first encountered the world of the Bullingdon Club. A year ahead of me, at the same university, her union interests would then have featured quantities of male, entitled, public-school product, much of it in the Cameron mould, yet more of it dimwitted to a fabulous degree that would, however, in the more hereditary professions, prove no obstacle to promotion. As a grammar school girl, she would have merited an extra helping of manly condescension, spiked with pretend awe at her ambition. At work, in a job that was then, for the most part, men only, she will have been complimented, by men much stupider than her, on being “bright”. If she became known as a “bloody difficult woman”, or renowned for her “icy” affability-deficit, it is probably because she failed to respond delightedly to the above. Not having children, she was often assumed, as we know, to have bought her ascent tragically, with some sort of unwomanly sacrifice or bargain. Latterly, as her career and responsibilities flourished, May found herself, again, surrounded by young alumni of the Bullingdon Club, specifically of the type that tells older women to “calm down, dear”, and younger ones that their 15% representation in the cabinet is no indicator of prejudice. There may be nothing feminist about it, but almost the best part of watching the May-Eton match was the thought of her, for all those years, quietly observing the all-male fortunate few, starring Cameron, Clegg, Osborne, Boles, Vaizey, Letwin and Gove, whose allegedly massive brain was matched only by his Wagnerian-scale expenses. Mrs May emerged frugally, honour intact, from the 2009 scandal. What did she think, when Cameron appointed and enriched a clique of male friends and donors, sought advice from Philip Green, or put that fool Etonian, Letwin, in charge of the impossibly complex Brexit negotiations? We can surmise, following her speech and reshuffle, that she thought exactly the same as many of us and kept it to herself. It’s this evidence of a long, contained game that offers some hope that May, by neutralising Johnson’s fan base, intends to get more out of this dismal arrangement than is obvious. Even so, his appointment leaves one last Buller man in the cabinet and swaggering round the embassies, specifically a lying Buller, a priapic Buller (specialist in something called “amitié amoureuse”), a cowardly Buller (though willing to collude in GBH), appointed by a woman who once took a stand against “nasty”. But to allow Johnson to taint a landmark for women would be to endow him with yet more undeserved significance and, possibly, to underestimate Mrs May again. Machiavelli, in his advice to new princes, notes how the initially most suspect servants may ultimately prove most loyal, “inasmuch as they know it to be very necessary for them to cancel by deeds the bad impression which he had formed of them”. Bearing in mind, of course, that Johnson’s notorious flakiness may make such service impossible. There could, surprisingly soon, be one cricket match too many. It is some comfort, meanwhile, following May’s dry comments about nearly new water cannons, and Amber Rudd’s allusion to his sleazebaggery, to picture the reception awaiting Johnson’s bluster, Latinisms and rugger talk in a cabinet freshly purged of chair-smashers.

2016-07-17 00:02 Catherine Bennett www.theguardian.com

91 Police and academics search Nice attacker’s history for a motive We know now that Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, who killed 84 people and injured many more on Thursday evening in Nice, was 31, getting divorced and living in a working-class neighbourhood euphemistically described in the French press as “mixed”. He was an immigrant, as are most of his neighbours. One described him as a blédard , a hick from the old country – in his case Tunisia. Taciturn, Lahouaiej-Bouhlel scared the neighbours and was prone to angry outbursts. He beat his wife and was recently convicted of an assault on a motorist. He had a record of petty crime and a possible history of depression, but no known links to radical ideologies or networks. French investigating authorities have various theories about the attack. An inquiry into “terrorist mass murder” has been opened, but prosecutors admit that for the moment there is no evidence of ideological motivation. Yet there has been a claim of responsibility from Isis and there is evidence of premeditation. The use of a vehicle, the target, and the fact that the attack took place on the highly symbolic Bastille Day all suggest a jihadi operation. Lahouaiej-Bouhlel certainly matches the classic profile of French violent Islamic extremist in many ways – though he is a relatively recent arrival rather than born in the country of immigrant parents, as is more usually the case. He was a young, male petty criminal. He was also not devout, all witnesses so far agree. He did not fast during Ramadan, ate pork, drank, and was never seen at any local mosque. This lack of piety among militants may seem confusing. It is, however, the rule rather than the exception. It was true of the dozen or so French and Belgian young men involved in bombings and shootings earlier this year, and of Mohammed Merah, who committed the first major attack in France in 2012. Other examples beyond France include that of Omar Mateen, who killed 49 in a Florida nightclub last month. This apparent paradox has prompted a keen debate among experts. The argument has major policy implications. In France, it has been bitter. Olivier Roy, a well-known French scholar currently at the University of Europe in Florence, suggests those drawn into violent activism are already “in nihilist, generational revolt”. This is why so many are criminals, or marginal. Extremist Islam gives them a cause and frames anger and alienation in the way extremist leftwing ideologies did for some in the 1960s and 1970s. The new militants are thus not victims of “brainwashing” by cynical and fanatical recruiters. This is the Islamisation of radicalism, Roy says, not the radicalisation of Islam. Many disagree. Some say Roy naively ignores the impact of intolerant and reactionary doctrines on Muslim communities in the west. Others suggest he underestimates the historical impact of western colonialism as well as that of more recent western policies in the Middle East. The case of Lahouaiej-Bouhlel will now be picked over by the academics as intensely as by counter-terrorist experts and detectives. All will be focusing on the range and extent of his contacts with other people. Again perhaps counter-intuitively, the more numerous those associations, the more worrying this attack may be. There are various possibilities. Lahouaiej-Bouhlel may be a genuine loner and suffering serious mental illness. His act may have no ideological element at all. This, however seems unlikely. A second possibility is that, already angry and violent, he was inspired, if not directed, to commit his attack by Isis or extremist Islamic militancy more generally. As in the case of Mateen, this would indicate the continuing power of the group’s ideology. In this case it is almost certain he will have some contacts with others involved in hardline Islamic activism in Nice or its surroundings. Police have now detained five people, including Lahouaiej-Bouhlel’s ex-wife. This scenario is more alarming, suggesting the possibility of more attacks to come. Finally, Lahouaiej-Bouhlel could have been part of the continuing series of attacks on France run by Isis from Syria since 2014. All have involved recruits being tasked with strikes by more senior leaders in the organisation. If true, this would indicate that Isis has continuing capacity for ambitious terrorist operations in Europe despite the pressure the group is under. And that would be a highly concerning prospect.

2016-07-17 00:01 Jason Burke www.theguardian.com

92 Qandeel Baloch, Pakistani fashion model, strangled to death in honour killing Pakistani fashion model Qandeel Baloch, who recently stirred controversy by posting pictures of herself with a Muslim cleric on social media, was strangled to death by her brother, police said Saturday. Her parents told police one of her six brothers strangled her to death as she slept in the family's home in Multan, police spokeswoman Nabila Ghazanfar told The Associated Press. ...