How can theatre companies get Indigenous land acknowledgments right?
That statement, adapted from the official land acknowledgement from the City of Toronto (updated as of February), should sound familiar if you’ve attended virtually any kind of public arts event in the last few years. But now, dissenting voices have started picking them apart. They can sound detached, shallow and give a false sense of progressive accomplishment when delivered by settler, often white, organizations and artists.
Anishinaabe writer, educator and Indigenous policy adviser Hayden King is one of the most vocal critics of land acknowledgments as they’re currently being practised. In his talk “Welcome to My Territory, Please Leave: Politics of a Land Acknowledgement,” given recently at Ryerson University, he said that our mainstream style of land acknowledgments actually cause harm to the people they’re supposed to celebrate.
“All major cities in Canada today have a land acknowledgement. Yet in each of these jurisdictions, with each of these land acknowledgments, there is active and ongoing disposition of Indigenous people,” he said.
In fact, King argues that land acknowledgments play a larger part in the plan of white settlers to erase Indigenous people from society, a process that continues to respond to pivotal moments in Indigenous activism such as the Idle No More movement and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Cynthia Lickers-Sage, a Mohawk visual artist from the Six Nations reserve and executive director of the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance, believes that resources like Native-Land.ca, an interactive map that geographically lays out Indigenous territories, languages and treaties, and the information provided by Toronto’s Generator website can help performers and companies craft a land acknowledgement, but that shouldn’t be the end of the process.
She recalls a conversation with the director of a well-known theatre company in Toronto, proud of how the organization had its youth performers work with local elders on land acknowledgments for each stop while on tour, which were now being provided to other companies travelling to the same areas.
“I felt a little bad because I didn’t respond as excitedly as she expected. I said, ‘This is fantastic, the only thing is that when you’re telling people, you’re robbing them of the experience.’ I would be more interested in hearing from those students about their relationship to the land. I would be more interested in a how-to document,” she said.
With varying definitions and perspectives within Indigenous communities themselves, even those within the same area, Lickers-Sage says standardizing land acknowledgments is futile. Including more personal information about the speaker’s own research and relationship to the land goes farther than listing the area’s nations.
Then again, she remembers one example where a performance company expanded upon their own family histories immigrating to Canada.
“I thought, ‘Well, this is interesting, you just did a five-minute land acknowledgement and then spent the last 10 seconds about the Indigenous people’ … we have to go one step a little deeper and speak to people from the community about their experience and connection to the land,” she said.
Another solution is to include Indigenous artists in the creation and delivery of a land acknowledgement, either providing a physical presence or, as Cole Alvis, a Métis artist with Chippewa, Irish and English heritage, used while working on Nina Lee Aquino’s production of The Drawer Boy last year, a pre-recorded message.
“It was important that we recognize Craig Lauzon as an Ojibway person playing the role of Angus in (Aquino’s) identity-conscious casting of the well-known play by Michael Healy. (The recording) provided an opportunity for the audience to hear from him and myself, the two Indigenous artists on the production, without requiring him to transition immediately from a preshow Indigenous protocol into the opening moments of the play,” he wrote to the Star.
Williamson Bathory’s land acknowledgement during her production of Kiviuq Returns this January at Tarragon Theatre explored the play’s themes as well as its wider cultural context, which only that particular cast and crew could have performed.
“We had a small baby in our group, the daughter of one of the stage managers, and she came onstage every day for the land acknowledgement. We introduced her to the audience, who all inevitably waved at her and cooed and awed. We then brought forth the tremendous amount of conflict, abuse, neglect, trauma and hurt we could name just briefly that has taken place on Indigenous lands against Indigenous people in recent history … and named the colonized trauma that Inuit have also experienced and still experience today,” she said, adding that the conflict at the Unist’ot’en camp in British Columbia and the apology to the Ahiarmiut people in Nunavut were both referenced onstage.
Nevertheless, she says this is a learning process for all involved, and she is impressed by the good intentions behind the popularization of land acknowledgments. But a change in mindset is necessary to move forward.


With the massive transportation agency merger that will fold the formerly independent and self-financed Massachusetts Turnpike Authority into the state Highway Department set to begin next week, the governor today appointed the five-member board that will oversee the super transportation agency.
The board, which will include a former Turnpike board member, a geotechnical engineer, the head of a Boston transportation and environmental consulting company and two former MBTA board members, will be sworn in and hold its first meeting Monday.
The governor said today he expects the new MassDOT as it is being called, to achieve significant costs savings for taxpayers, while improving customer service and safety across all of the state’s transportation networks.
The board will also be advised by a 20-member advisory council that will be led by Alan MacDonald, executive director of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable.
The council’s members will be named Monday.
The MassDOT will be headed up by its new CEO Jeffrey Mullan, who is also set to become the state’s new Secretary of Transportation, replacing outgoing secretary James Aloisi, who is leaving state government after a short tenure in charge of the state’s transportation system and the pending merger.
The governor also today named the heads of the four new divisions.
Luisa Paiewonsky, who has served several years as Highway Department Commissioner will serve as administrator for the new Highway Division, with William Mitchell serving as acting administrator of the Rail and Transit Division. Christopher Willenborg will be the administrator of the aeronautics Division, and RMV Commissioner and former state Rep. Rachel Kaprelian will become the administrator of the Registry division.
The MassDOT board will be chaired by John R. Jenkins of Natick, who has served on the Turnpike board as a director for several years. It will also include Andrew Whittle of Boxboro, the head of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Elizabeth Levin of Boston, president of Liz Kevin and Co., a management consulting firm; Ferdinand Alvaro of Marblehead, a former MBTA board member and co-chairman of the National Business Law Group; and Janice Loux of Williamstown, president of Local 26 of the Boston area hotel and food service workers union, who also is a former member of the MBTA board.
“I am proud of my 12 years of service to the MBTA,” she said.
State Transportation officials said as of Nov. 1, the Turnpike Authority and its 4,000 employees will be absorbed by the DOT, which is expected to achieve numerous efficiencies with shared administrative services for all of the agency’s divisions, a new central traffic monitoring operation and other operational efficiencies.
State Secretary of Administration and Finance Jay Gonzalez said it took years for the problems facing the state’s transportation system to develop and “they will take some time to fix.” But, he said, the merger and naming of the new boards and administrators marks “a critical first step” that will put the state on its way to what he called “real reform” in the coming weeks and years.


The author's 2016 debut novel "Behold the Dreamers" centers on race, class and the pursuit of the American dream.
CANTON In September of 1998, Imbolo Mbue arrived in the United States from West Africa carrying a belief that life here was like an American sitcom.
Mbue’s 2016 debut novel centers on race, class and the pursuit of the American dream by an African immigrant couple and the wealthy family they work for, set against the real-life 2008 financial crisis.
A New York Times bestseller and Oprah’s Book Club selection, it has been translated into 12 languages and recently was optioned to be made into a feature film.
On Thursday night, more than 500 people turned out to the Palace Theatre to hear Mbue share her experiences as an immigrant and author. The program was part of the Stark County District Library’s Dr. Audrey Lavin Speaking of Books Author Series.
Mbue is a graduate of Rutgers University and holds a master’s degree in education from Columbia University.
Americans’ misconceptions about Africa, Mbue said, were similar.
The first ride from the airport offered another shock.
After graduation, Mbue labored as a dish washer, bank teller, deli worker, preschool secretary, store clerk and door-to-door vacuum cleaner saleswoman.
“It’s as bad as it sounds,” she said to laughter.
Mbue said she was inspired to start writing for herself after reading Toni Morrison’s novel, “Song of Solomon.” With plans to become an academic, she was working full-time in New York City at a media company when she suddenly lost her job on the heels of turning down a doctorate program.
She researched the book by talking to wealthy whites and immigrants about their lives, and studying documents detailing the collapse of Lehman Brothers Bank.


There was much to celebrate at this year’s silver jubilee Goodwood Festival of Speed.
I arrived on the Friday to be greeted by the wail of the Jaguar XJR-9.
The sound of its 7.0 litre V12 engine at high revs is hugely evocative.
I remember watching Martin Brundle, Andy Wallace and John Neilsen win the 1988 1000km at Brands Hatch in one.
I’ve never forgotten the sound and the flames coming from the exhaust as they changed gear as the car raced through the woods of Dingle Dell.
Andy Wallace would go on to win Le Mans that same year in the Tony Southgate designed XJR-9 with fellow drivers, Johnny Dumfries and Jan Lammer.
The scale of Jaguar’s achievement becomes apparent when you consider that between 1981 and 1987 Porsche had won seven consecutive Le Mans.
Porsche first competed at Le Mans in 1951 and has won at the famous Circuit de la Sarthe on 19 occasions with 17 outright victories; more than any other manufacturer.
Porsche celebrated 70 years of motorsport success at this year’s Festival of Speed.
The magnificent installation on the lawns of Goodwood House suspended a number of icons of Porsche automotive design high above the crowds.
On the hill climb the crowds were treated to an array of racing Porsches which included an example of the Porsche 962C which won Le Mans in 1986 and 1987 at the hands of British driver Derek Bell.
Porsche GT racers, rally cars and single seaters were also keenly driven up the Hill.
The Cosworth years were celebrated.
From 1968 the 3.0 litre V8 Cosworth DFV engine transformed the opportunities of numerous Formula 1 cars and teams.
Amongst these was the Matra–Cosworth MS80 run by Tyrell which swept Jackie Stewart to victory in the 1969 world championship.
Stewart would win two more Formula 1 World Championships with the Tyrell–Cosworth 003 and 006 in 1971 and 1973.
It was poignant to watch Jackie Stewart driving the Matra–Cosworth up the Hill followed by his two sons Paul and Mark in the Tyrells.
Interviewed at Goodwood after the drive with his sons Sir Jackie Stewart reflected fondly.
The weekend had the atmosphere of a huge family of motoring enthusiasts coming together.
As the exuberant sound of the racing cars and bikes at Goodwood Festival of Speed ended the cacophony of sound, the smell of racing oil and tyres and the spectacle of speed and colour faded to memory and thoughts turned to the evocative 2018 Goodwood Revival.
This year’s three-day event will be held on the September 7 to 9. The Goodwood Revival celebrates the halcyon days of motor racing with the accompanying glamour of the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s.
For more information or to buy some of the few remaining tickets visit www.goodwood.com.


All three occupants of a car died in a 'horrific' crash when a vehicle driving the wrong way down a slip road smashed head on in to them.
One man was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs after the Peterborough collision.
Police were called to the slip road to Stanground off Fletton Parkway at midnight yesterday.
The driver arrested is now in critical condition in hospital.
The chairwoman of the Cambridgeshire Police Federation, Liz Groom, said it was 'such sad news'.
'Thoughts with the families of those who have died,' she tweeted.
In a statement Cambridge Constabulary said: 'One vehicle had driven down the slip road the wrong way and collided head-on with another vehicle, killing all three of its occupants.
'Police were called to a collision involving two vehicles at the slip road to Stanground on the westbound carriageway.
'The driver of the offending vehicle has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and driving while under the influence of drink and/or drugs.


SOUTH PASADENA — Things figure to be different for the upcoming season concerning the Hoover High and La Cañada girls' basketball teams.
At Hoover, the Tornadoes have a new coach in Stan Watson.
La Cañada lost nine seniors to graduation and will likely view next season as a rebuilding one.
Nevertheless, Hoover and La Cañada found a way for some late dramatics during a South Pasadena Summer League contest Wednesday afternoon.
Hoover scored the last five points of the game to secure a 32-31 victory against La Cañada at South Pasadena High.
Amatia Golbodaghi made one of two free throws with 9.9 seconds left to lead Hoover to its third win in a row at South Pasadena. Golbodaghi earlier made a free throw with 58.9 seconds to knot the game at 31.
The Tornadoes received a team-best 14 points from sophomore center Allison Zalin.
Zalin made a pair of big shots from the floor to keep Hoover within striking distance. She scored on a layup to pull Hoover to within 31-28 with 3:10 remaining before making a short jump shot to cut the lead to 31-30 with 1:31 left.
"We were able to execute down the stretch," said Watson, who served as an assistant with the Glendale Community College women's basketball program last season. "I called a timeout when we were down [late in the second half] and told them to give me one stop on defense and a basket and we were able to get that and go from there.
"It's a great confidence boost for us because it's important to see them win some games like these. Allison played big for us by getting some points, blocking shots and defending well in the paint."
The Spartans, who lost standouts Courtney McCutchan, Tia Chen and Shannon Denny to graduation, received 11 points from Kristene Hossepian and eight from Courtney Chen.
Veteran La Cañada Coach Tamar Hill, whose team advanced to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA playoffs last season, said the Spartans played one of their better summer contests Wednesday.
"We have a lot of people playing at the varsity level for the first time," said Hill, whose team owned a 22-20 halftime advantage. "It's about learning to play good defense and things like that.
"It's one of our best games as far as offensive production is concerned. They lost a close game, but it will put a little more fire in them."
The Tornadoes got six points from Lauraine Barakat. Barakat converted on a layup to give Hoover a 14-13 lead with 8:45 left in the first half. On Hoover's next possession, Barakat drained a jump shot to extend the lead to 16-13.


Tens of thousands of workers walked off their jobs today and staged polite protests against layoffs and the increasing use of temporary workers.
A similar scene was repeated at Myongdong Cathedral, the Roman Catholic church in central Seoul that has long been a haven for labor protesters fleeing the tear gas and cudgels of the riot police.
Workers expressed anger at the conglomerates, or chaebol, whose owners seem to be escaping the hardships suffered by average Koreans, and at the Government, which passed a law in February making it easier to lay off workers as part of an effort to prod the conglomerates to restructure.
Sentiment is also running against the International Monetary Fund, which made increased ''labor flexibility'' -- a euphemism for layoffs -- a condition of its $58 billion bailout.
Although labor protests are not widely popular here at the moment, economic conditions are getting more severe as companies that have muddled along hoping for a quick turnaround are being forced to take drastic measures.
Adding a new demand to its list, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which represents more than 500,000 members of the country's more militant labor unions, demanded today that the Government renegotiate the ''labor flexibility'' issue with the I.M.F.
The confederation is also insisting that the Government improve the social welfare network and force reform on the conglomerates.
But despite the oratory booming from loudspeakers throughout the city, the atmosphere was more festive than threatening. Just down the street from the cathedral, in a popular shopping district, young people in trendy clothes took advantage of the warm weather to stroll about and haggle with street vendors.
Nonetheless, Mr. Balfour and others say, there is potential for the labor situation to worsen as deteriorating financial circumstances force more companies to resort to layoffs.
The confederation said that it would continue negotiating with the Government, but said that if its demands were not met, it would call a open-ended general strike for June 10.
So far there have been no wide-scale layoffs, though the unemployment rate is now more than twice what it was at the end of last year. Many employees have chosen early retirement, agreed to work part time or accepted temporary unemployment. Many of the newly unemployed are white-collar workers who do not belong to unions.
The Hyundai Motor Company has said it will lay off 8,000 workers in June or July unless it can reach a compromise with its union, which has thus far refused to discuss other options.
No other big companies announced mass layoffs, which is unusual in a country where the herd instinct is strong in the business world. But Mr. Yang, the labor leader, said Korea Telecom had told its employees that 10,000 may lose their jobs. Company officials could not be reached for comment.
Frank Shin, a spokesman for Hyundai, said that because 1,400 employees had accepted early retirement, the company now expects to lay off fewer than 8,000.
Hyundai's production lines in Ulsan were shut down this afternoon when more than 10,000 workers walked out, preventing the production of some 5,400 cars, Mr. Shin said. Newspaper and television reports put the number of striking workers at Hyundai at 30,000.
The workers promised they would return promptly at 5 P.M. on Thursday, an unusual bit of courtesy considering the violent confrontations that have marked Hyundai's labor relations in the past.


The US Supreme Court has granted a stay requested by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and Governor Rick Perry along with other state officials. The stay blocks Texas from using the maps drawn by the lower Federal Court in San Antonio, TX. This Federal Court re-drew the maps for Texas in response to race based lawsuits from Liberal Democrat groups who cannot get the people to vote for them so they try to get into office via Activist Judges.
This Stay is GREAT news for Texas. The Constitution of the United States should just be thrown in the trash if 2 judges in San Antonio are able to draw the voting maps for the entire State of Texas. The United States Constitution says that the ELECTED Representatives in the State Legislature of Texas are the people who are supposed to draw the new voting maps. The court drawn maps represented the greatest attack against Texas and The Constitution since, well, since I can ever remember. Two unelected judges should not and cannot draw the maps for Texas. That is NOT their job nor do they have the authority to do it. The Supreme Court has taken the extraordinary step of granting a Stay to stop the court drawn maps. This shows that the Supreme Court believes there are serious problems with what is going on.
These court drawn maps not only went against the Constitution and the Sovereignty of Texas, but they also were illegal in many ways. The lines in the court drawn maps irresponsibly cut through communities and discriminatorily used race as the sole basis of where the lines were drawn. The court drawn maps created districts that had significant differences in population therefore creating districts where one person’s vote in one district was stronger than one person’s vote in another district.
So What Does This Mean for Texas Elections?
All the other Primary Elections will still be able to be held in March. This includes all the other Primary races like the Presidential Primary election, US Senate, state wide positions like Railroad Commissioner, State Board of Education, and the County level Primary Elections.
All Candidates running for Congress, State Representative and State Senate should just hold tight and wait until the Supreme Court makes a ruling because we will not know how these districts will look yet. All voters should also hold tight because you do not know what district you will be in until after this is resolved.
All other Primary races are still a GO for March so let’s all not lose focus on the March elections because there are very important races like President and US Senate. You know, having two primary election dates this year might be a good thing. There are so many important political races that it is hard to know who is running for what. Splitting up the races into two different elections might be better than having just one big overwhelming ballot. Plus, the local races in the May election will see possibly the biggest turnout in all of history because of the addition of the Congressional, State Rep, and State Senate Primary Elections so close to the local elections. So if you think you will be able to just fly under the radar running for School Board in May or trying to pass a tax increasing bond in May, think again! The typically low turnout May election will have a HUGE turnout and these local elections will see a record number of voters and will garner more publicity and community interest because of the primary elections tha will also me in May.
The Supreme Court, working late on a Friday, agreed to rule on the constitutionality of three redistricting plans for the two houses of the Texas legislature and its 36-member U.S. House of Representatives delegation, and put on hold temporarily a U.S. District Court’s interim maps. The Court ordered expedited briefing, and set a hearing on the cases forJan. 9 at 1 p.m. The Justices’ action gave Texas much of what its lawyers had sought in their challenge to the three-judge trial court’s temporary maps, which were to be used for the 2012 election cycle. The Court’s order is here. It raises the strong possibility of a major new ruling on the power of federal judges to draw up redistricting plans while a state legislature’s own maps are under challenge in court.
Although the state had initially sought only a stay of the temporary redistricting plans, it suggested as an alternative that the Court take on the cases itself, and issue a prompt ruling. That is what the Justices agreed to do, putting the cases on its docket for review as 11-713 (the Texas state house case), 11-714 (the Texas state senate case), and 11-715 (the congressional delegation case). What the Court did not do was order any immediate change in the way Texas candidates go about signing up to run in the 2012 primary, now set forMarch 6. Cases 11-713 and 11-715 go by the same title, Perry, et al., v. Perez, et al., and case 11-714 is titled Perry, et al., v. Davis, et al.
Candidates began filing for seats in the legislature and in the House of Representatives on Nov. 28, and the filing period now in effect was to continue until Dec. 15. Friday’s order made no immediate change in that. It was unclear whether the filing period is now to be interrupted until after the cases are decided, and, if not, what districts would actually be used for purposes of candidates’ filing in the meantime. The three maps drawn by the state legislature earlier this year supposedly cannot be used, because their validity under federal voting rights law and the Constitution is now under review by a different U.S. District Court, in Washington. And the interim districts crafted by the District Court in San Antonio cannot be used because they are now stayed by the Justices’ order.
The Court set this briefing schedule: it consolidated the cases, ordered Texas officials and the challengers to the legislature’s maps to file opening briefs simultaneously on Dec. 21. Reply briefs from both sides are due Jan. 3. The oral argument on Jan. 9 will be for one hour only.
Stay applications such as the ones that put these cases before the Court are usually only for temporary remedies, and, most often, seek simply to maintain the status quo while the underlying decision at issue is reviewed. The Court, this time, converted the applications into what it calls “jurisdictional statements,” which is the label it uses for cases that are appealed directly to the Justices from a three-judge District Court. Federal law provides that challenges to redistricting cases are to be heard initially by three-judge District Courts, with direct appeals to the Supreme Court, bypassing the usual transit through a federal Circuit Court of Appeals.
By granting review, the Court, of course, gave no indication of how it would rule on the constitutionality of the District Court’s interim plans. But the Court appeared to have taken seriously and heard perhaps somewhat sympathetically the Texas lawyers’ argument that a 1982 Supreme Court precedent — Upham, et al., v. Seamon, et al. — strictly limits the power of a federal court to craft its own interim redistricting plan that deviates greatly from one drafted by a state legislature. In the San Antonio District Court, the dissenting judge in the 2-1 rulings at issue had argued that the Upham decision barred a court-ordered map that strayed so far from what the state legislature had drawn.
Because the three cases reached the Justices as stay applications, they did not spell out specifically the legal or constitutional questions being laid before the Court. But it does appear, at least at this stage, that the Court will only be ruling on the validity of the San Antonio court’s decision to draw up interim maps of its own. No lower court has yet ruled on the underlying question of whether any of the districts — for the legislature or for the House delegation — actually violate federal law or the Constitution.
While Friday’s order seems to put a hold on further proceedings in the San Antonio court’s review of the Texas legislature’s three maps, there was nothing in the order that would appear to have any effect on the continuing review of the validity of those plans by the District Court sitting in Washington. The Justice Department is taking part in the Washington case, and is making significant challenges there to the maps the legislature drew for the Texas house and for the House of Representatives delegations. Those maps, as well as the one for the Texas state senate, are also under broad challenge by minority and civil rights groups.


NEW YORK (Forex News Now) – The Canadian dollar pared gains versus its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, following mixed U.S. data on producer price inflation and unemployment claims and upbeat data on Canada’s trade deficit.
In European late morning currency market trading, USD/CAD hit 1.0023, down 0.12 percent on the day, after rising slightly from a fresh 5-month low of 0.9979.
Official data showed earlier that U.S. initial jobless claims rose more than forecast last week and the U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in September.
However, the reports were offset somewhat by upbeat data on U.S. producer price inflation, which rose unexpectedly in September.
According to intraday analysis, USD/CAD was likely to touch support around the low of April 21, 0.993, and encounter immediate resistance around Wednesday’s high, 1.0105.
Also Thursday, Canada’s statistics agency said the country’s trade deficit dropped to CAD -1.4 billion, down from a revised -2.6 billion in July. Analysts had expected a more modest decline to CAD -2.2 billion in August, two major currency market trading news outlets reported.
Elsewhere, the loonie fell versus the euro: EUR/CAD traded at 1.4098, up 0.64 percent, according to intraday analysis.


The Hackenthorpe Slimming World group celebrated Susan Spence and Peter Spence’s achievements as part of Slimming World’s Couple of the Year 2018 competition.
Susan, aged 57, and Peter, aged 59, believe supporting one another on their weight-loss journeys has been key to their success.
Susan, who has now lost 2st 7.5lbs, says: “We enjoy spending time in the kitchen together. When we first joined Slimming World we couldn’t believe how much food we could eat and still lose weight. Making small changes to the way we cooked our meals meant we could still enjoy all of our favourites like steak and chips, chilli con carne,spaghetti bolognaise and Sunday dinners.
“We love sharing our new recipes with family and friends, too – they taste so great and people are always surprised to learn they’re good for them. As we’ve lost weight we’ve enjoyed being more active as well, which means we do more together like getting out and about and enjoying long walks and bike rides.
It was the couple’s fellow slimmers who voted for them to represent the Hackenthorpe Slimming World group in the Couple of the Year 2018 competition.


Mumbai: Dabur Pharma today posted a 22.70% rise in net profit at Rs8.54 crore for the quarter ended 30 September as compared to Rs6.96 crore for the corresponding period last year.
The total income of the company declined to Rs66.64 crore for the reviewed quarter as against Rs94.29 crore for the same period a year ago, down 29.32%, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Shares of the company were trading at Rs64.95, up 2.53%, at the BSE.


NEWPORT County AFC will be targeting a win and another potential financial boost when they host League One Oxford United in the Carabao Cup second round tomorrow night.
Striker Padraig Amond knows from experience how important success in the cup competitions can be for clubs like County.
The Irishman was brought to Rodney Parade 12 months with the money the Exiles earned from their Carabao Cup tie at Leeds United.
And he knows that a win over Oxford, coupled with a good draw for the next round, could enable manager Michael Flynn to bring in another loan signing before Friday’s deadline.
Amond told iFollow Exiles: "We’ll be going in as underdogs. They are a league above us, and their win [against Burton Albion on Saturday] will give them a bit of confidence.
“But we have a lot of confidence in this team and we want to get a win and a good draw in the next round if we can.
“The Leeds game last season basically allowed my signing to happen and I was really grateful for that.
“Leeds made a fantastic gesture to the club – I think they gave us half the gate receipts when they didn’t have to.
“That was really, really nice of them and it does help in the lower leagues. It gives you that chance to bring in an extra player that you might not have been able to sign otherwise and that was basically the case with myself.
"Ultimately, if it’s a good cup run as well then it can put you into the limelight. Especially last year playing well against Leeds, it entices players to come to the football club.
"Getting the draw with Spurs in the FA Cup also allowed us to show everyone that we do play to a good standard.
“Players will want to come here and as you can see, we enticed a couple of good players in from Bristol and Cardiff on loan. If we can keep those relationships good, then it’ll be fantastic for the club."
Amond has been a big hit during his first year at the club with 17 goals to his name in that time and he’s excited about the future for the Exiles.
"It’s been a good year – I’m really enjoying it,” said the 30-year-old.
"I’m just loving life at the minute. Things have gone well for us on the pitch and I’m settled in the area as well, so long may it continue.
"In terms of this season specifically, we could have scored a few more goals but I think if someone said to you that we’d be fifth in the league at this time of year then you’d be very, very pleased with how it has been so far.
“If we keep putting in the level of performance like we did against Grimsby and Notts County, then we’ll do well.
"We’re trying to make Rodney Parade into a fortress,” he added.
“It’s three wins out of three now at home so if we can keep that going then we’ll have a decent year."
Amond also opened up on his part in the winning goal against his former team Grimsby Town on Saturday.
The striker distracted Mariners goalkeeper James McKeown before Matty Dolan curled in the winner from a free-kick.
"It’s something I’ve never done for Newport before but I used to do it quite a bit with Grimsby,” he explained.
“I went in to get a drink initially and I know Macca so I just had a little chat to him to try and wind him up a little bit. It worked.
"I don’t think he [James McKeown] could get his wall set enough but I’m not sure whether that actually had anything to do with it anyway because Matty’s free-kick was unbelievable.


The national average wedding cost is more than $30,000.
The average cost of a wedding in America is $33,391, according to The Knot.
More than half of couples go into debt to pay for their wedding— so how much are couples actually spending on their wedding?
We talked to seven former brides to see how much they spent on their wedding, and the majority spent less than the national average.
Modern-day weddings have a notorious reputation for being pricey. On average, Americans spend roughly $33,391 on their weddings, according to The Knot's 2017 Real Weddings Study.
But that doesn't mean they can afford it. More than 74% of couples will go into debt for wedding costs, reports Student Loan Hero.
But, of course, how much you spend on your wedding depends on several factors, such as where you live, what season you're getting married in, what type of wedding you have (big or small), and what details are important to you.
So, Business Insider talked to seven former brides who shared their wedding budget details. They shared their original budget, how much their wedding actually cost, and a breakdown of main wedding category expenses, from the dress to food and bar costs to photography. Note that the total wedding cost for each wedding includes other expenses beyond what is listed.
Whether they spent half the national average on a rural farm in Minnesota or roughly four times the average in a dreamy New York City wedding, there was one thing they all had in common: the money was worth the memories.
Ashley and her wife spent $10,000 for a country club wedding in Andover, Massachusetts, with 110 guests.
Ashley, who married at age 25, told Business Insider she was very lucky to have talented friends and family pitch in for her wedding day, which helped keep her budget below her original estimation.
"The bulk of our budget was focused on the place and the food," she said. "We loved the garden we used for our ceremony and the terrace attached to our reception space that allowed for an indoor/outdoor experience."
The venue, Andover Country Club, was the most cost-effective venue she and her wife looked at, she said. The venue provided a coordinator in the package, so they didn't need to allocate funds to pay for it. They also used a relative for a DJ at a discount.
"Overall, we wanted a classy, fun experience that wouldn't be impossible to pull off!" she said.
Beth and Matthew Hebert's destination wedding at a diner in Chicago, Illinois, with 36 guests cost $12,125.
Beth Hebert and her husband were paying for their wedding on their own, so they settled on a budget of $10,000 for entire wedding weekend festivities. Based in Houston, they decided to have an out-of-town wedding in Chicago — you'd think a destination wedding would be hard to pull off on a small budget, but they managed to come in under budget for personal out-of-pocket expenses.
They also had a bit of help as someone unexpectedly picked up their $2,300 bar bill as a wedding gift — had that not happened, they would have gone slightly over budget. Their venue at the Little Goat Diner was free as long as they met the $1,000 minimum, and it included a wedding coordinator in the venue fee.
"We are such foodies that we knew [that] even with a smaller budget, the food and beverage options had to be amazing — which is why we went with a brunch option," Beth told Business Insider. "It hadn't been done in our friend group, and Girl & the Goat is iconic to the Chicago food scene so everyone was excited to have that food."
She also wanted live music and found an acoustic guitarist, but wasn't willing to splurge on an expensive dress and getting her makeup done.
Anna and her husband's 195-person wedding in rural Minnesota cost $15,406.
Anna and her husband exchanging vows.
Anna originally set a $10,000 budget for her ceremony on her parent's farm in rural Minnesota and reception at a reception hall, but after amended the number to $15,000 after she realized it was unrealistic.
"Photography was a significant part of the budget as that's the part of the wedding that lasts forever and we wanted to find a photographer that fit us and our wedding," Anna, who was 25 when she married, told Business Insider. "Food was also important and, while we were constrained by budget there and had a basic meat and potatoes buffet, the cheap caterer we found was actually really good."
"Being in a rural area helped keep some of the costs down, but there were certainly other little ways we did so," she added. For example, she purchased her wedding dress at a bridal consignment store and family members helped with day-of coordination, so they didn't need to hire a wedding planner.
The budget was her biggest concern when planning her wedding, as she and her husband paid for 70% to 80% of it on their own, with her parents covering catering, ceremony seating, and a back-up tent, and the groom's parents covering the rehearsal dinner.
"It's hard to say a single day is ever really worth $15,000, but I'd absolutely do it again with a similar budget and, while it was a large chunk of change, we save enough and have no debt so it didn't set us back too much," she said.
Amber Kozo and her husband's 130-guest summer wedding in Dumbo, Brooklyn, cost $16,000.
Amber Kozo and her husband.
Amber Kozo, 28, and her husband spent $13,000 of their own cash on their wedding, while their parents covered $3,000 for the cost of the bar, dress and tux, rehearsal dinner, and other little items. Kozo told Business Insider this helped them stay within their original budget to spend only $15,000 as a couple.
"It was very important to us to not go broke over this wedding," she said. "We know the NYC average wedding costs $88,000. We ambitiously tried to do the whole shebang in NYC for 130 guests under $15,000."
To keep costs down, Kozo did a lot of DIY, such as making half of the dessert and doing all the decor herself. She also used fake florals and ordered greenery in bulk from Costco. And instead of a DJ, which they couldn't find for less than $3,000 in the city, she and her husband made a Spotify playlist that included song requests from guests. They also skipped traditional catering.
"I'm really crafty and have helped a lot of girlfriends plan their wedding," she said. "I learned all the important questions to ask that drive up costs."
Kozo said they steered clear of many of these traditional wedding details because they wanted the day to reflect them as a couple.
Lauren and her husband had a 27-guest ceremony in Covington, Kentucky, and late reception in Cincinnati, Ohio, for 85 guests that cost $18,500 total.
In an effort to save money, Lauren Corso and her husband had a small wedding with their immediate family and their grandparents, followed by a reception-style party two months later. But combined, the two events cost just under $20,000, which was more than they wanted to spend.
"I think we hoped we could get married and celebrate the occasion for under $10,000…but things just got more expensive quickly," Corso, 30 at the time, told Business Insider, adding that food and drink were the most important part of their budget. "But they were incredible days and worth it to be with all of our friends and family."
They hoped to spend only $5,000 on the ceremony and dinner, but ended up spending $7,500. For the reception, they intended to spend $7,500, but ended up around $11,000.
The numbers below include the total spent for both events.
A 31-year-old bride and her husband spent $32,000 for a winter wedding with 180 guests in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Bride and groom not pictured.
A Wisconsin bride told Business Insider her wedding came in under budget because she and her husband overestimated nearly every cost for their wedding.
"We were really concerned about having some kind of surprise big expense like you often hear of due to timing or lack of planning," said the bride, who was 31 at the time of the wedding. "We also were happy to be flexible and a little unconventional in some aspects."
They cut corners on their flowers and décor budget by selecting a ballroom venue with an art deco style that didn't need a lot of dressing up and kept costs low by adding greenery and candles to the space. Aa a graphic designer, the bride designed her own invitations, and they negotiated a cash discount for the photographer, both of which saved money.
The biggest part of their budget went to food and bar, including a rehearsal dinner at a burger joint, family-style reception dinner, open bar, ice cream desserts, and pizza for a late night snack.
However, the most important part of their budget was the day-of coordinator they hired.
"My husband and I are big planners, and I do believe we thought of every detail down to the minute leading up to the day," she said. "However, day of, as the bride or groom we did not want to be bothered with a single thing. Trust in your planner is essential that they can go with the flow and think on their feet. The piece of mind was worth every penny!"
A 30-year-old bride's New York City wedding at the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park with around 130 guests cost $126,248.
The bride and her husband.
"I had a very generous budget, but I found it very easy to cut costs where priorities are low," a 30-year-old New York bride told Business Insider. "The key is truly having a sense of what you want and not trying to just have everything to have it!"
"The best $10,000 I spent on the entire process was for my wedding planner," she said. "She was absolutely insane and honestly, most brides say something won't go your way the day of — but everything seemed perfect to me. She and her assistant were worth more than what I paid."
Her next priority was food, resulting in a menu that would delight any food lover. While the Boathouse succeeded in this category, she also included a bunch of different add-ons, like a Peking duck station, seafood bar, donut frying station for desserts, and Korilla BBQ Korean taco food truck for late night. They also hosted a next-day Dimsum meal.
"I'm Chinese and food is a huge part of our culture," she said. "There was so much food at cocktail hour that most people thought that was the dinner."
Her third priority was her dress. "I had planned to spend around $3,000, maybe $5,000 max, but ended up with an obscenely expensive choice, but do not one bit regret it."


Haryana state minister Om Prakash Dhankar criticised over remarks made in wake of a number of recent suicides in India.
An Indian state minister from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party has been criticised for saying that farmers who commit suicide are "cowards".
Om Prakash Dhankar, the agriculture minister of Haryana state, said on Tuesday that: "According to Indian law, suicide is a crime. A person who commits suicide runs away from his responsibilities".
"Such people are cowards and the government cannot stand by such cowards, such criminals," Dhankar said, according to NDTV.
The comments came in the wake of large numbers of suicides committed by farmers in recent months.
It also follows the high-profile death of Gajendra Singh, from the western state of Rajasthan, who purportedly left a suicide note saying he had recently suffered crop losses, before hanging himself from a tree at a popular protest spot near India's parliament last week.
In parliament on Wednesday, the opposition Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi crticised the government over Dhankar's remarks, urging Modi to visit farms and acquaint himself with conditions there.
"The farmers are crying, they are in distress, but Dhankar says those who commit suicide are cowards," Gandhi said.
"It would be good if the prime minister goes to Punjab, meets farmers and goes to the wholesale markets.
"He will get to know for himself what's happening."
After Gandhi's speech, Dhankar told reporters he stood by his comment that committing suicide is a crime under Indian law, and added that his government had given farmers every assistance, the Reuters news agency reported.
Ajay Vir Jakhar, the chairman of Bharat Krishak Samaj, a non-political association of agriculture producers, told Al Jazeera that he "felt awful" when he first heard news of Dhankar's remarks.
"Sometimes it is so frustrating that these types of people keep being given command," Jakhar said.
Jakhar said that while there had been increased media and political exposure for farming issues in the wake of the recent suicides, he was concerned that no real policy solutions would be identified to improve farmers' lives.
"It is frustrating, because I realise they will forget about these issues when they have another issue to focus on - and that could be tomorrow, or the day after that," he said, adding that the government should include farming representatives in policy discussions.
"I have to believe that the government has good intentions, but they do not understand the on-the-ground reality."
Citing the state government's figures, the Times of India reported that at least 600 farmers killed themselves in Maharashtra state in the past three months.
In 2014, the same state reported almost 2,000 farmer suicides, the newspaper said.


The Brzyckis lived in Rifle from 1972-79. This letter is about David, who went to elementary school in Rifle.
On June 1, David and his father, Lenny, were hunting in Southwestern Montana. His father, who was a short distance away from David, heard a rifle shot and found David being mauled by a bear. He was able to shoot the bear from 25 yards away. David walked on his own to the ATV, before collapsing on his father’s shoulder. Lenny drove the ATV 12 miles out of the woods to his truck, then drove 25 miles before getting cell service and calling 911. David is in Harbor View Medical Center in Seattle, Wash.
David lost an eye and injuries to his head and face were extensive, both hands and wrists as well as an arm were broken. The surgeons determined that David’s hand and wrist were crushed by the jaw of the bear. David fought hard, covering his head with his hands so the bear couldn’t get to his head. He lost a lot of tissue and blood where the bear bit his arm and underwent 13 hours in the operating room under anesthesia.
On June 3, David began communicating with gestures, relating as much of the story as he could. On June 4, the doctors said the bear that attacked David might have had rabies. They took David back into surgery to treat him for rabies.
David will be in the hospital 4-6 weeks, with procedures every 1-2 weeks. He is a tri-athlete and had been training for his first Ironman in November. That’s probably what saved his life.
If you remember David and the family, I know they would enjoy and appreciate hearing from you. You can call me at 625-4028 for an address.
Thank you for your recent coverage of the collaborative efforts of Rifle Growing Community and Growing Food Forward in building gardens for hunger relief and educating children (and adults) in the Rifle community in all phases of gardening and preparing healthy foods.
We at Growing Food Forward have been helping groups in Rifle, Parachute and New Castle build raised bed gardens through the purchases of trucking, soils, composts and more and supplying organic heirloom non-GMO seeds and starters for those gardens (planted by Yampah Mountain High School students in their greenhouse and cared for/housed since by Osage Gardens). We’ve also conducted 10 free seed distributions to area gardeners in Western Garfield County who are donating a portion of their harvests to LIFT-UP.
The other town’s gardens are done but Rifle’s are far behind. Volunteer turnout in Rifle has been disheartening. Rifle Growing Community Coordinator Andrea Matthews has been doing a fabulous job organizing and has put in hard physical labor, despite being over 8 months pregnant. We’ve had the best volunteers show up and do GREAT work, but unfortunately, there are few. Seventy percent of the students in Rifle schools are on free or reduced school lunches – the worst percentage in the region. We need to get gardens built and food in the ground ASAP, and it could be done already if we’d enjoy the kinds of volunteer turnouts we’ve experienced in building 60 gardens throughout the county.
The Children’s Learning Gardens being built in front of Mancinelli’s Pizza will be used to teach first graders-middle schoolers in the Access Roaring Fork Boost Camps, with the produce going to needy children in the program. Please consider volunteering at Mancinelli’s from 9 a.m. to Noon Saturday, June 28, (pizza provided) so we can complete the project by July Fourth.


About 30 foreign nationals have been found in the back of a van stopped by police on the M5.
Officers were called at about 07:10 BST to Newlyn, Cornwall, after people were seen getting into the back of a van from a boat.
It was stopped near Cullompton in Devon at about 09:00 and about 30 people, believed to be Vietnamese, were found inside.
Four men have been arrested on suspicion of modern slavery offences.
Three men have been taken into custody and one man has been taken to hospital, where he is under police guard.
A Border Force investigation is currently under way in Newlyn and centres around the Johan Sebastian yacht.
The National Crime Agency, UK Border Agency and other relevant partner agencies have been informed.
Inquiries are ongoing and witnesses are asked to contact Devon and Cornwall Police.


Enjoy this Christmas jingle courtesy of Kevin Bacon.
As everyone, everywhere leaps from their desks at 5 p.m. sharp to race frantically to jump aboard the various planes, trains and automobiles that will transport them to their homes of origin (where they will partake in lots of drinking to deal with all that familial holiday cheer) we'll just leave you all with this.
Kevin Bacon doesn't know what the hell a partridge in a pear tree is. Also, Kevin Bacon is kind of awesome.


The continuing boom in big data will lead to 25 per cent of large organisations appointing chief data officers (CDOs) within the next year, according to the research firm Gartner.
Debra Logan, research vice president at Gartner, claims that the number of CDOs serving in large organisations has doubled since 2012 and will continue to rise as the need to understand data increases.
Research by the firm suggests that there are CDOs operating in over a dozen countries now, most commonly in heavily regulated industries, media and government.
Logan believes that CDOs should integrate with existing chief information officers (CIOs) within firms, taking on the ever-expanding role of managing data in order to allow CIOs to focus on "the more-than-full time job" that they already have.
"CIOs should view the CDO as a peer and partner who can manage data and who has the knowledge, background and skills to do so," Logan said.
The emergence of this new role has so far attracted double the proportion of women compared to that of CIO, with the majority of positions available within the US.
Related: The big data boom: What, why, and how?
The actual role of CDO, according to Logan, is not about "owning" the data, but managing it.
"(CDOs) may own key processes around the data and be 'in charge' of some data - for example master data," Logan said. "The CDO owns a few things, but coordinates the use of data in other places.
"This is exactly like a CFO, who owns a few financial processes, like consolidation and treasury, but other than that coordinates the use of capital throughout the organization."
The Gartner Enterprise Information & Master Data Management 2014 will be taking place in London in March.


HBO Documentary Films has acquired worldwide TV and streaming rights to Participant Media and Emerson Collective’s documentary feature film FOSTER. Producer Deborah Oppenheimer and writer-director Mark Jonathan Harris (HBO’s Oscar®-winning “Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport”) reunite to upend some of the most enduring myths about foster care, going beyond the sensational headlines and stereotypes. The Sabine Films production, which recently had its world premiere at AFI DOCS Film Festival in Washington, D.C., will debut on HBO in 2019.
There are currently more than 400,000 children in foster care in the U.S., a number that continues to grow each year. Drawing on unprecedented access, FOSTER traces a complex path through the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services, interweaving first-hand stories of those navigating the system with insights from social workers, advocates and others working in the justice system. The film offers a realistic but hopeful perspective on a community that needs society’s support.
Committed to ensuring that FOSTER makes a positive difference, Participant Media is developing a multi-stakeholder social impact campaign that hopes to engage elected officials and other leaders, as well as organizations across the country, in a coordinated effort to create more visibility, support, and resources for children and families in the foster care system. This initiative will highlight successful practitioners and programs that accelerate solutions focused on strengthening families.
Participant Media and Emerson Collective present FOSTER, a Sabine Films Production; writer/director, Mark Jonathan Harris; produced by Deborah Oppenheimer, p.g.a.; a film by Deborah Oppenheimer and Mark Jonathan Harris; producers, Lisa Remington, Samantha Polan; executive producers, Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann; editor, Kate Amend, ACE; director of photography, Nick Higgins; music, Gary Lionelli; sound designer, Gary Rydstrom; music supervisor, Tracy McKnight; original song “Tiny Victories” performed by Christina Perri.
Founded by Chairman Jeff Skoll and under the leadership of CEO David Linde, Participant Media (www.participantmedia.com) combines the power of a good story well told with real world impact and awareness around today’s most vital issues. Through its worldwide network of traditional and digital distribution, aligned with partnerships with key non-profit and NGO organizations, Participant speaks directly to the rise of today’s “conscious consumer,” representing the well over 2 billion consumers compelled to make meaningful content a priority focus.
As an industry content leader, Participant annually produces up to six narrative feature films, five documentary films, three episodic television series, and more than 40 hours of digital short form programming, through its digital subsidiary SoulPancake. Participant’s more than 80 films, including Wonder, Contagion, Lincoln, The Help, CITIZENFOUR, RBG, Food, Inc., and An Inconvenient Truth, have collectively earned 56 Academy Award® nominations and 12 wins, including Best Picture for Spotlight and Best Foreign Language Film for A Fantastic Woman. Participant’s digital division, SoulPancake (www.soulpancake.com), is an award-winning provider of thought-provoking, joyful, and uplifting content including such widely popular series as Kid President and The Science of Happiness and reaches an audience of over 9 million fans. Follow Participant Media on Twitter (@Participant) and on Facebook and Instagram. Follow SoulPancake on Twitter (@soulpancake) and on Facebook and Instagram.
Emerson Collective is an organization dedicated to removing barriers to opportunity so people can live to their full potential. Established and led by Laurene Powell Jobs, Emerson Collective centers its work on education, immigration reform, the environment, health, and other social justice initiatives. Emerson Collective uses a wide range of tools and strategies to develop and execute innovative solutions that will spur change and promote equality.


OS X running on a Microsoft-branded tablet? Say it isn't so!
Apple's operating system in running inside a VM--virtual machine--on the Windows 8-powered tablet, so there's no doubt a performance hit to doing this, but still, it's a pretty impressive.
According to Donald Annis who uploaded the video, the Wi-Fi driver doesn't work, but everything else seems to be OK.
Some might claim that this is a hoax, but I've seen OS X run on many different PCs, and given that the Surface Pro is nothing more than a thin PC, this doesn't seem all that far-fetched to me.


A risk-reduction request for proposals (RfP) for the US Navy’s MQ-25 unmanned air vehicle acquisition is expected to be released “this summer”, which will help set out the timeline in which the service can realistically expect the tanker system to be deployed on-board its carrier fleet.
Speaking to Flightglobal at the AUVSI Xponential show in New Orleans, Louisiana on 3 May, RADM Mark Darrah, PEO Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons for the navy, said that the move from a stealth intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) strike aircraft to the tanker variant now being proposed has left questions over the availability of the technology and timeframe for its development.
The goal is to release a risk-reduction RfP this summer, which will be followed by an engineering, manufacturing and design RfP in early FY2017, he says.
The intent it still to speak to the same four bidders that were selected for the previous iteration of the programme – the unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike, or UCLASS – and the risk-reduction RfP will seek information on the technology that the companies currently have, and how much it will cost.
Boeing, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman all have designs they were going to pitch for UCLASS, and are expected to modify them for the MQ-25’s new role.
“It’s giving us the opportunity to incorporate new ideas,” Darrah says, and the acquisition timeline will then be set out once this information is garnered from industry.
He notes that programme delays, such as the ones evident within the UCLASS programme, can sometimes provide opportunities for reassessment, and “we think there are some things that we learnt [from that]”.
The navy is prioritising deploying the unmanned capability on the carriers as opposed to the stealth element, so redefined the requirements to acquire a refuelling ISR asset instead of a stealthy strike one. This is ultimately in line with what the navy’s Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets currently do, and will alleviate the burden on the fighters so that they can carry out the strike role.
Elsewhere, the navy is also looking to utilise the capability of its smaller fleet of UAVs more, by “tying together” the assets into a common operational picture to standardise the way that data is communicated to those that need it.
“We continue to see a huge demand from the warfighter for unmanned capabilities at the company level,” Darrah says. The navy is targeting more cross-level use of systems such as the AeroVironment Puma and Wasp and Honeywell T-Hawk systems, to be able to deploy the most suitable ISR assets for each job.
This extends to including more payload options in the smaller systems, and Darrah notes that a key priority of the navy is to incorporate scalable technology from the larger platforms to the smaller ones.
He also praised the performance of the Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack UAV that is being deployed from the navy’s amphibious assault ships, that are providing “situational awareness that they never had”.
“We’ve learnt a lot about training, sustainment and spares from this,” he adds. This includes the logistics of ensuring stable take-off and landing of the UAV from the vessels, and countering the potential loss of GPS when at-sea.
The navy’s Northrop MQ-8B Fire Scout rotary-wing UAV is also performing well at sea as it deploys alongside the Lockheed MH-60R helicopter on the Littoral Combat Ships.
The number of people deployed on the ships has been decreased as a result of the unmanned option, which is in line with the navy’s desire to utilise these ISR assets more.
The final test of the larger MQ-8C is on track for FY17, and the campaign is “doing very well”, Darrah notes. The radar programme for the MQ-8C is also underway, and the navy is receiving early demonstrations of options.
A so-called Milestone C decision on the Northrop MQ-4C Triton high-altitude development is expected in June, meanwhile, which will lead on to low-rate initial production and a planned first deployment in FY18.


UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday condemned the frequent attacks against journalists worldwide and demanded an end to the impunity enjoyed by those guilty of violent crimes against members of the press.
The appeal came in the form of a unanimously adopted resolution that also called for the release of all media professionals "who have been kidnapped or taken as hostages, in situations of armed conflict."The resolution was drafted by this month's Security Council president, Lithuania, whose Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius presided over the meeting.
Mariane Pearl, a journalist and widow of Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was beheaded by Pakistani militants in 2002, told the 15-nation council that it was "a troubled time for our profession."


Rockstar has released the Title Update 1.01 patch for Red Dead Redemption 2. This update has fixed some significant issues that players encountered after playing some missions. On some of those missions, players were losing the ability to communicate, and characters were missing from camp when players returned.
The patch specifically fixes an issue where Molly disappeared from the camp after the American Distillation mission. An issue where retrying a checkpoint during the mission Polite Society, Valentine Style caused multiple companions to be missing from camp reports VG247.
Other issues in missions that prevented players from speaking to companions in first person mode are fixed. The patch comes after the beta for Red Dead Online launched.
Red Dead Online has been heavily criticized, mostly due to the high-cost of updates and items in the game. Some participants in the beta claim that it costs more to go on a mission than you make at completion.


(AP) — China said Friday it is poised to impose retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. imports, including coffee, honey and industrial chemicals, if Washington goes ahead with its latest trade threat.
China’s Finance Ministry accused the Trump administration of damaging the global economy after the U.S. proposed increasing duties on $200 billion of Chinese goods in the second round of a dispute over technology.
Washington imposed 25 percent duties on $34 billion of Chinese goods on July 6 in response to complaints Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology.
Beijing retaliated by imposing similar charges on the same amount of U.S. products.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman had earlier called on Washington to “come to its senses” and settle the dispute.
There’s no end in sight, and the dispute could chill global trade and economic growth.
China’s new threat targeting a smaller amount of U.S. goods reflects the fact that Beijing is running out of products for retaliation due to its lopsided trade balance with the United States.
China’s imports from the United States last year totaled $153.9 billion. After the earlier tariffs $34 billion of U.S. goods, about $120 billion is available for retaliation.
Beijing’s earlier round of tariffs appeared designed to minimize the impact on the Chinese economy by targeting soybeans, whiskey and other goods available from Brazil, Australia and other suppliers.
Chinese authorities warned earlier that if the dispute escalated, they would adopt unspecified “comprehensive measures.” That prompted concern among American companies that retaliation might expand to disrupting their operations in China.
The United States and China have the world’s biggest trading relationship but official ties are increasingly strained over complaints that Beijing’s technology development tactics hurt American companies.
Trump’s tariffs target goods the White House says benefit from industrial policies such as “Made in China 2025,” which calls for developing Chinese competitors in robotic, artificial intelligence and other fields.
A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry appealed to Washington to negotiate but could not confirm reports the two sides were setting up talks.
“We urge the United States to come to its senses, correct its erroneous acts and create the necessary condition for a proper settlement as soon as possible,” spokesman Geng Shuang said.
Trump campaigned on a promise to bring down America’s massive trade deficits by renegotiating trade agreements and getting tough on countries like China that sell the U.S. far more than they buy from it.


What starts as a thrilling spiritual reading ends in unexpected tears on the next "Ice Loves Coco."
On Sunday's all-new episode, Coco and her mother receive a surprise visit from world famous medium James Van Praagh, whose in-depth reading gets Ice-T's missus a bit emotional.
Watch Coco choke up as James delivers some surprising news from the other side.
"Ice Loves Coco" airs Sundays on E!


So what better solutions do we have to this epidemic desire for the processed and carb-loaded? Here enters GoNanas, the brainchild of School of Information senior Annie Slabotsky and LSA senior Morgan Lerner. GoNanas produces a variety of banana breads, all gluten-free (many vegan friendly as well) that replace all the negative ingredients associated with baked desserts with the kind of stuff that packs a much more nutritious punch, all detailed by Slabotsky in an interview with The Daily.
But GoNanas hasn’t always been supplying places like Fred’s, Replenish and Literati with their delicious breads. Like all small businesses, Slabotsky and Lerner started out as freshman with a simple goal in mind: “We’re really driven by our mission in this idea that we can bring healthy, accessible food to busy college kids that are on the go and want to have a dessert but don’t want to grab a donut or a refined sugar-filled muffin. So we want to give this treat — especially to those people who are vegan or gluten-free or nut-free or dairy-free, we are all allergen-free — and being able to provide this healthy, nutritious dessert is what inspires us,” Slabotsky said.
What is most appealing about GoNanas is not only the nutritional value of their work, but also the variety they bring to an otherwise standard treat, with current flavors including pumpkin and chocolate chip — and with this variety brings a sustainable edge to their company. GoNanas works with the seasons provide fresh new flavors to their customers while keeping in mind how they can make a positive environmental impact with their food.
With an eye on health and sustainability, GoNanas is the perfect one-two punch of a delicious, sustainable snack without all the negative effects of typical, dessert-like foods. Starting with a family recipe, Slabotsky and Lerner are pioneering what it means to satisfy a sweet tooth in a fast-paced, health-conscious society — especially one in a huge college town. With an eye at expanding their clientele in the future, Slabotsky also reflected on the unique quality of their bread.
Next time you’re in a mild state of panic reviewing your organic chemistry notes or slamming out a paper on the role of carriages in Jane Austen, think about grabbing a slice of GoNanas bread before running to Walgreens for a candy bar — your body and mind will definitely thank you for it.


Living as illegal immigrants in Phoenix, Gerardo and Lupita have spent the past 11 years suppressing a certain amount of fear that they would be discovered and deported; however, until Arizona’s new immigration law was signed in April, they didn’t worry much about sending their two children to school.
But they’re scared now – of being singled out and arrested for sending their children to public school. So are their children, Daniela, 13, and Diego, 7.
Daniela is an undocumented high school student; Diego is the only official U.S. citizen in the family. Their mother, Lupita, said she’s scared for both of them.
Daniela’s high school – like many public schools in Arizona – has a police officer working full-time on campus. These school resource officers (SROs) work under contract with school districts to keep schools safe and to react to emergencies when necessary.
Part of an SRO’s mission is to become a role model to the students and foster a sense of trust between children and police. But that role may change when the school year begins this fall, after the immigration law takes effect.
Hispanic parents across the state are worried that police stationed at schools will start treating students like suspected law-breakers because the language of S1070 unequivocally requires all police to investigate suspected illegal immigrants and charge them under state trespassing laws if they can’t prove they are in the country legally.
The Arizona School Boards Association and school resource officers are doing their best to downplay the possibility of such a scenario. The school boards group says enforcement that would hinder an undocumented student’s right to education – such as his or her removal from school – would run afoul of established constitutional law.
Meanwhile, the bill’s authors, Sen. Russell Pearce and attorneys with the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), said police officers in Arizona are required to investigate potential state immigration crimes, no matter what beat an officer is working.
Advocates for the Hispanic community said thousands of families don’t know what to expect when the school year begins this fall, and said some parents are considering removing their children from school just to be safe. Even a few arrests on school grounds could trigger widespread panic, they said.
Don Kerwin, vice president of the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, said his research has found that both legal and illegal immigrant populations tend to “go underground” when they perceive law enforcement is targeting them.
Soon, families like Gerardo and Lupita’s will have to make a gut-wrenching choice: Risk the future of their children by avoiding school, or jeopardize the whole family’s quest for the American Dream.
Right now, they’re planning to send Daniela and Diego to school, even though both situations pose problems. Daniela could end up being investigated and arrested if a police officer finds out she’s here illegally. And even though Diego is a natural-born citizen, Gerardo and Lupita open themselves up to similar contact with police just by dropping him off or picking him up at school.
Arizona’s new law has underscored the fact that Daniela is a ninth-grade criminal. It doesn’t matter that she gets good grades and won a school spelling bee when she was 8. It also doesn’t matter that she made none of the choices that got her into this situation.
Gerardo recalled carrying his three-year-old daughter on his back as the family walked across the border during an eight-hour journey through the desert near Nogales in 1999.
“I don’t remember any of it,” Daniela says of her family’s illegal crossing.
On June 22, inside the gymnasium at Madison Park Elementary School, Lady Ga-Ga’s latest hit blared over the speakers and 63 elementary students practiced hip-hop dance steps alongside several Phoenix police officers who awkwardly joined in.
As the students filed out of the gymnasium at the end of the day, many gave SRO Reneé Ross a hug before leaving.
Sgt. Jeff Young, who oversees all of the school resource officers in Phoenix, said they are not at school to investigate students as criminals. Their role is to develop positive community relationships, so crime can be prevented instead of investigated, he said.
That bond-building reputation will be difficult to keep after July 29, however, because school resource officers stationed at middle- and high-school campuses across the state may be compelled to act on any information that a student is here illegally. State and local government entities that don’t enforce the law to the fullest extent will be vulnerable to lawsuits, which can be filed by any Arizona resident.
Garrett Roe, an attorney with FAIR, said school officials are fooling themselves if they think school resource officers have some sort of special designation under the law. That’s simply not the case, he said.
“I think that interpretation violates federal immigration law and restricts the ability to carry it out,” he said.
School officials have asked the state police training board and local police agencies to clarify the roles of police officers at schools. Some school board members are pushing for guidelines that maintain the status quo and protect students from heightened scrutiny.
Meanwhile, the Arizona Peace Officers Standards and Training board, which was tasked with establishing S1070 training guidelines for police agencies across the state, has no plans to clarify the roles of school resource officers. POST Director Lyle Mann said each contract between a school district and a local police agency is different, and it would be impossible at this time to address every question and concern of school officials.
The new state law creates several gray areas in which school police may have to carry out the new law in settings that traditionally had afforded protection to students from immigration enforcement.
The most common incident resource officers respond to on campuses that could be dealt with as a crime is fistfights. In that circumstance, the students involved in a fight have broken school rules, and the school resource officer would get involved to stop the fight, bring the students to the principal’s office, help report the incident and counsel the students. The officer’s role could end there.
If a student has racked up recurring violations, school administrators or police officers may determine the incident was severe enough to warrant criminal charges. At that point, a school resource officer would shift from a security role into a law enforcement role.
Kent Scribner, superintendent of the Phoenix Unified School District, said the decision to approach an incident as a crime is made by both the officer and school administration, but ultimately the school resource officers are still employed by the local police department, not the school district.
Ruben Gallego, a Democrat running for the House in the District 16, said many families in Phoenix look at the SROs as “the good guys,” and it would be a mistake to require them to investigate students.
begins, and district officials across the state are scrambling for a way to avoid violating federal laws that require them to provide free public education to all students while also complying with a state law that requires on-campus police officers to investigate suspected illegal immigrants.
Since statehood, Arizona’s educators have played by a strict set of federal rules that requires them to educate all school-age children without regard to race, ethnicity or immigration status.
But Pearce has set out to change all that; if S1070 doesn’t scare illegal immigrants out of the school system, he said he’ll force them out next year by drafting legislation to deny free public education to students who cannot prove they are U.S. citizens.
“We’ll have less crime and spend less money on supporting law breakers,” Pearce said.
Pearce has spearheaded laws to eliminate specific public benefits for illegal immigrants, to criminalize hiring an undocumented worker, and to charge illegal immigrants under state trespassing statute. But his plans to go after undocumented public school students is an attack on the well-established definition of the 14th Amendment – a definition Pearce and his supporters said is flawed.
The constitutional requirement to provide equal protection under the law to citizens and non-citizens – as well as free public school for legal residents and illegal immigrants– was upheld in the landmark 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decisionPlyler v. Doe.
Lynne C. Adams, an attorney who provides counsel to the Arizona School Boards Association, said the most common interpretation of Plyler is that governments must avoid any action that would dissuade undocumented children from attending public school. Doing so, Adams said, could be seen as a constitutional violation.
Roe, the attorney with FAIR, said the Plyler case poses no problem for the application of the new law because even though district officials and school staff are barred from inquiring about the immigration although status of students, police on school grounds are under no such restrictions.
“The location of the police officer doesn’t have any bearing on the enforcement of laws,” Roe said.
No matter what school districts ultimately do, they’re likely to get sued. Enforcing the state law too vigorously could lead to a challenge in federal court. Adhering too strictly to the federal rules could lead to a challenge in state court.
Kerwin, with the Migration Policy Institute, said any interpretation of the new Arizona law that allows it to be enforced on school grounds would certainly set off a constitutional challenge.
Randy Capps, a policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute, said any law restricting children from attending school may create a long-lasting disparity among different groups in society and limit the opportunities for a whole generation of people living in the U.S.
Capps said the supporters of Arizona’s new law almost always cite the cost of education as a reason to tighten immigration enforcement, but that they rarely consider what would happen if thousands of students are removed from the educational system.


The Cocoon Studio costs $225,000 to $275,00 and can be delivered in less than 16 weeks. The 480-square-foot home includes several environmental features, such as LED lighting and nontoxic materials.
With his venture Cocoon9, Christopher Burch — the man behind the now-shuttered clothing brand C. Wonder and the former husband of the fashion designer Tory Burch — hopes to prove that small, prefabricated spaces can be luxurious and perfect for the Hamptons.
Such a space is the company’s Cocoon Studio, a 480-square-foot prototype of a prefabricated house that is now on view at the Southampton location of Mecox Gardens, the home furnishings store.
The rectangular building, which ranges in price from $225,000 to $275,000, features a wall of sliding floor-to-ceiling windows and white lacquered cabinetry that conceals shelving, kitchen appliances and a Murphy bed.
Mr. Burch founded Cocoon9 with a childhood friend, Edwin Mahoney, several years ago, with the aim of tackling the increasingly crowded field of luxury prefab homebuilding.
Prefabricated houses, typically manufactured piecemeal as modules on an assembly line and put together like Legos on the building site, are a growing industry. And as their popularity has risen, they are shaking off the dowdy, uniform styles they were once known for, and increasingly becoming a less expensive way to execute stylish designs. Recent examples include those by the designer Philippe Starck, who is building prefab houses near Paris, and that of Tim Wright, who is a grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright and who lives in a prefab house in Wisconsin. And Dwell, the home design magazine, offers its own branded prefab houses.
Cocoon9 began when Mr. Burch asked a team of designers in Shanghai, where he has an office, to come up with building concepts. He soon recruited Mr. Mahoney, a third-generation homebuilder and the owner of E. B. Mahoney Builders of Bryn Mawr, Pa.
The company, which has a factory in China and another in New Jersey, has so far manufactured two prototypes: the one on display at Mecox Gardens, which will be delivered to Ms. Burn and her husband, Spencer Grimes, a financier, after the summer-long open house ends; and the Cocoon Cabin, the same size but with a different floor plan, at Mr. Burch’s Southampton home, where it serves as his pool house and guest cottage.
Cocoon9 is selling three models, all built as single modules and designed so as to be easily transportable by flatbed truck. Both the Cocoon Cabin and the Cocoon Studio measure 12 by 40 feet and are similarly priced. The Cocoon Lite 20, at 8 by 20 feet, costs between $75,000 and $95,000. Made of steel that can withstand winds of up to 150 miles an hour, they are insulated so as to require minimal air-conditioning or heating. The houses also have several environmental features, such as LED lighting and nontoxic materials.
Despite their contemporary, geometric shape, these buildings suit even the traditional architecture of the Hamptons, “where pitched roofs and cedar siding are the norm,” as a blog post on the Mecox Gardens website noted. The exterior of the Cocoon Studio is a wood-plastic composite, while other models have exteriors of carbon stranded bamboo siding. Cabinetry can come in several finishes, including bamboo or a matte or glossy white lacquer, while flooring is either cerused oak or vinyl with an oak grain. The fixtures can also be tailored to taste, from Venetian bronze to brushed stainless steel, with bathrooms that feature marble mosaic or glass tiles.
The houses, which take four months to manufacture, also feature distinctive touches like 360-degree TVs that can swivel from one room to the next and showers made of “smart glass” that changes from clear to opaque when in use. Buyers must build their own foundations on which to attach the buildings, secure the proper permits and connect the utilities themselves, the costs for which can vary, but may add up to around $30,000, according to the company. A crane is also needed, which can run an additional $10,000, while shipping costs can range from $5,000 to as much as $40,000, depending on the state. Once the home arrives, it can be hooked up in a matter of days.
For Ms. Burn, the style of the Cocoon Studio at Mecox Gardens matched her house, designed by the architect John Black Lee, seamlessly. “Our house has such a clean look and we wanted to honor that architectural aesthetic,” she said.
So far, Ms. Burn is Cocoon9’s first and only client, but after the soft launch at Mecox Gardens, interest is growing, according to the company. The hope is that these buildings will not just adorn the backyards of expensive homes, but that hotel developers will buy several buildings and install them along a beach in the Caribbean, for example, to create a near-instant eco-resort.
“The idea is that it can be used a variety of ways, from a house on a quiet beach for one person, or a combination of houses for a hotel or offices,” Mr. Burch said.
Steven Chen, the company’s lead architect, recently went to New Canaan to conduct a site visit at Ms. Burn’s home. “I wanted to look at road access for getting in the flatbed truck, and to discuss utilities and the foundation, and how to coordinate before the unit arrives,” Mr. Chen said.


Thursday night's The X Factor elimination show was the first that relied entirely on viewer votes without taking judges' opinions into account. If you don't want to know who America chose as The X Factor's three finalists, read no further.
The X Factor fielded 30 million votes for their results show, but Marcus Canty's name wasn't on enough of the ballots as he was sent home one week before the season finale.
The soulful crooner held his head high, vowing that the decision would not hinder his career.
"This is not the last time you will see Marcus Canty!" he declared.
It had been a long road for Canty to remain on the show as long as he did. The vocalist had to sing for his survival on numerous occasions, winding up towards the bottom in audience and judges' votes.
Canty's mentor, L.A. Reid, seemed more affected by the news, saying, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little sad, right? I'm really connected to Marcus -- he's amazing. I'm not happy to see you go. I think you're a major star ... You have my support."
As the only mentor to have coached two proteges into the semi-finals, Reid still has a chance for one of his contestants, Chris Rene, to win The X Factor's top prize.
Tune in to FOX on Wednesday night to see finalists Chris Rene, Melanie Amaro and Josh Krajcik duke it out on an all-new X Factor.


Hamilton County, Ohio Prosecutor Joe Deters announced Tuesday that he will retry the case of police officer Ray Tensing, who is accused of the shooting death of Sam Dubose following a July 2015 traffic stop.
Earlier this month, a jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on the murder and voluntary manslaughter charges against the former University of Cincinnati police officer, leading Judge Megan Shanahan to declare a hung jury and a mistrial.
Tensing was working as a University of Cincinnati police officers on July 19, 2016 when he stopped Dubose for a failure to display a license plate. The traffic stop was caught on Tensing's body camera and resulted in a single shot to Dubose's head, causing his death.
"I've never had a hung jury in my life. Ever," Deters said Tuesday. "Can't remember the last time I had a not guilty verdict. Maybe 30 years ago."
Before the start of the trial, Tensing's attorney Stew Mathews requested a change of venue; the request was denied.
Deters said he plans to request a change of venue for the trial, saying it would be very difficult to find an impartial jury in Hamilton County. A judge will need to grant the motion for a change of venue. He said "Columbus or Cleveland would be fine with me."
Deters said the jury's fear of being identified was a factor that worked against his case.
"We had a revolt in the jury room," Deters said. "The jurors were afraid people would learn their names."
He said the jury likely heard and discussed things that were not pertinent to the case.
"No question in my mind, issues were being discussed in the jury room that shouldn't have been discussed," Deters said.
Deters will personally retry the case. He said he doesn't know of a case that was ever moved out of Hamilton County.
The prosecutor previously said he would bring the same charge(s) against Tensing, because they match "the facts."
Deters said he would expect the new trial, should it be moved, to begin around the spring of 2017.


LIAM Payne and Naomi Campbell have had their first bust-up — she wanted to avoid him at tonight’s Bafta awards and he wasn't happy about it.
Liam, 25, also recently missed a New York party amid claims Naomi, 48, does not want to be seen in public with the One Direction star.
We can reveal Liam’s ex Cheryl Tweedy is devastated over their relationship — and is stunned he is seeing someone like Naomi.
Sources said the supermodel wants to avoid the “drama” of being seen out with Liam. One said: “Naomi and Liam argued about the Baftas and she bluntly told him they were not going together.
Liam — who split from The Greatest Dancer judge Cheryl, 35, last summer — was spotted at home in London this week while Naomi was in New York.
But she jetted back into Heathrow on Friday — with Liam and Naomi both expected at tonight’s Baftas at the Royal Albert Hall.
But their romance has caused concern among Liam’s friends and family, including mum Karen, 58.
A separate source said she contacted Liam’s advisers to voice her fears over the relationship.
They said: “Karen is worried because Liam was down in the dumps last year over the split with Cheryl, and he seemed to be back to his normal self.
“But now Naomi has come along and there is concern over the impact it will have on him.
“People around Liam have had to placate Karen, who is understandably a bit worried.
“There is a fear Liam is being sucked into Naomi’s world and the fact she seems to be in control.
“People are worried about the age gap, her supposedly volatile temper and whether she will drop him and move on.
“Liam has been warned he has a lot to process, with the split from Cheryl and his career, and they are worried he is throwing himself into things too quickly.
“But he is spellbound by Naomi, and like a puppy dog around her.
Friends of Naomi warned she may see him as a 'plaything' after it emerged she took a pic of Liam in chains doing 'dips' in a gym.
Naomi, whose exes include film legend Robert De Niro and F1 tycoon Flavio Briatore, is said to have decided they will go on holiday in May.
Sources said she selected a glitzy hotel in Cannes.
Clean-living Naomi has also discussed leading a “spiritual” lifestyle with Liam.
The source added: “Naomi has decided where they are going and Liam seems happy about it. She has also told him she wants to spend ‘spiritual’ time with him away from parties and booze.
“Naomi doesn’t drink and tends to leave events early after posing for pictures. She wants to enjoy that sort of lifestyle with Liam who has also cut back on partying.
We revealed last week how the pair had been dating for two months.
Liam told pals of “mind-blowing” trysts while friends of Naomi warned she may see him as a “plaything”.
It also emerged she took a pic of Liam in chains doing “dips” in a gym. Meanwhile, The Sun on Sunday can reveal Liam’s ex Cheryl has been left “stunned” by the relationship.
Liam and Cheryl, who announced their split last July, are still close and spent Christmas together with their 22-month-old son Bear.
But the source said: “Cheryl has been really shocked by the revelations — it has been a bit of a sucker punch for her and she was a bit blind-sided.
“She thought Liam might be ready to move on, but did not expect him to be seeing someone like Naomi. That was an absolute shock.
“Liam has told people he does not think Cheryl will let Naomi — or anyone else — spend time with Bear.
“But Cheryl is still friends with Liam so will do what is best for all of them, and Bear. And Liam wants to stay on good terms for the sake of their son.” Our revelations came after Liam and Naomi — who spent New Year in Ghana — set tongues wagging by flirting on social media.
Naomi said Liam had a “beautiful soul” under a shirtless snap of him.
Liam — who has charted with a string of hits while 1D are on hiatus — replied: “Perfection in a person” under a photo of Naomi.


Thirty thousand Syrians who have been granted Turkish citizenship will vote in Sunday's presidential and parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim was quoted as saying on Tuesday by broadcaster NTV.
“They have the right to vote but I do not know how many of them will use that right. They are our guests and they will return to their country,” the prime minister said.
He said that Syrians who have received Turkish citizenship "must obey the Turkish law", according to Turkish daily Hurriyet.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government has granted citizenship to thousands of refugees who have fled the conflict in neighbouring Syria. Turkey is hosting around 3.5 million Syrian refugees.
The Hurriyet newspaper and other media said Mr Yildirim made the comments Tuesday in the city of Izmir.
Turkey announced in 2016 that it would begin granting citizenship to Syrians. Many of the Syrian refugees who reside in the country mainly live in the southeast and Istanbul, Turkey's largest city. Critics of Turkey's refugee policy say that it lacks a strategy to deal with their long-term presence.
Mr Erdogan, whose administration has supported Syria's moderate rebel groups, has railed against the rule of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, calling for a transition of power after seven years of civil war.
Meanwhile, voting at Turkish diplomatic missions abroad for expatriate Turks ends Tuesday, with orange sealed bags carrying votes already arriving in Turkey. Voting at border gates and airports will continue until all polls close Sunday afternoon.
The country's official Anadolu news agency said 41 percent of the more than 3 million registered expatriate voters have cast their ballots so far.
Mr Erdogan on Sunday faces the biggest ballot box challenge of his 15-year grip on Turkey, seeking to overcome a revitalised opposition against the background of an increasingly troubled economy.
The vote takes place almost two years after the failed coup aimed at ousting Erdogan from power, a watershed in its modern history which prompted Turkey to launch the biggest purge of recent times under a state of emergency that remains in place.


If Google and Apple can have their mobile payment services, so can Samsung. They are the world’s largest phone maker, after all. And they want to increase their ARPU, no matter what.
Samsung is just trying too hard and they will eventually succeed. Honestly, I’m not sure why their apps are seldom, if ever, used. Some of them look great, while others — like Samsung (Galaxy) Apps — are only used when you need to download something for free.
Anyway, the Samsung Pay service has been unveiled on the heels of the company’s acquisition of mobile payments firm LoopPay. The service will utilize both NFC and MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) to allow users to forget their wallets at home, and use nothing but their smartphone to pay for goods.
The Korean giant has managed to corner all of the big boys on its side, which — when you think about it — don’t have a thing to lose – only to gain new clients. These include financial giants such as MasterCard, Visa and American Express, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and U.S. Bank.
Adding a card requires a few simple steps. Once added, the user simply swipes up from the bezel to invoke the Samsung Pay app, chooses the desired payment card, and authenticates with the fingerprint sensor. Tapping the device to the point-of-sale (POS) terminals allows for a fast, secure, and easy purchase.
Samsung promises top-notch security, emphasizing the fact that important information won’t be stored locally.
The Samsung Pay is expected to be launched in the U.S. and Korea this summer, before expanding to Europe and China later in the year. Anyone looking to try it out?
I’m looking forward to both the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and Samsung Pay. The Galaxy S6 Edge fingerprint reader has been reported as working great and Samsung Pay works with any credit card terminal.
Its supposed to work with 90% of retailers while apple only works with 10% so its already winning.