Amazon Inc. to buy Whole Food Market Inc.

Amazon.com Inc said it would buy Whole Foods Market Inc (WFM.O) in a deal valued at about $13.7 billion, including debt. The $42 per share offer represents a premium of 27 percent to the upmarket grocery chain's Thursday close. Whole Foods shares were halted at $32.77 in premarket trading, while Amazon's shares were up 0.5 percent at $969. Excluding debt, the deal is valued at $13.39 billion, based on 318.9 million diluted shares outstanding as of April 9. The grocer will continue to operate stores under the Whole Foods Market brand, the companies said. John Mackey will continue as chief executive of Whole Foods, and the company's headquarters will remain in Austin, Texas. Amazon and Whole Foods expect to close the deal during the second half of 2017.

Apple Inc. hires Sony pictures co-president

Apple Inc said on Friday it hired co-presidents of Sony Pictures Television, Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, to lead its video programing efforts. The duo, responsible for shows such "Breaking Bad", "Better Call Saul", "The Crown" and "The Blacklist", have been Sony Pictures presidents since 2005. "Jamie and Zack are two of the most talented TV executives in the world and have been instrumental in making this the golden age of television," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. Apple began its long-awaited move into original television series last week, with a reality show called "Planet of the Apps", an unscripted show about developers trying to interest celebrity mentors with a 60-second pitch on an escalator. The company's future programing plans include an adaptation of comedian James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke" segment from his CBS (CBS.N) show that will begin airing in August, as well as a documentary about Sean Combs in June and another about Clive Davis in a few months.

Parents to be jailed for giving children western names

Parents in Egypt could soon be sentenced to six months in jail for giving their children ‘Western’ names such as ‘Mark’, ‘Lara’ and ‘Sam’. A draft law banning the use of ‘foreign names’ was introduced by MP Bedier Abdel Aziz and discussed by his country’s parliament yesterday. According to the Egypt Independent, he said “The fine should be between LE1,000- LE5,000($60-$300) and the sentence should be six months at the most. Using such Western names and abandoning Arabic ones will lead to an undesired and radical change in our society and culture. Our sons will no longer be connected to their true identity,” he claimed. As for what motivated him to propose this law, MP Abdel-Aziz explained that Western names such as ‘Lara’, Mark’ or ‘Sam’ are difficult to pronounce for other Arabs. The draft law has caused massive outrage among social media users who have expressed their condemnation, citing it as a trivial matter that the Parliament should not discuss.

Buhari, Nigeria's President too sick even to see wife

President Muhammadu Buhari was not allowed to see his wife, Aisha, during her recent visit to the United Kingdom, presidency sources have disclosed. In the stunning disclosure, the sources affirmed that the president has been kept away from several of his aides and even those bodyguards who supposedly travelled with him. The President’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari who also frequents London to take care of himself, is still the manipulator-in-chief, according to the sources. Furthermore, It was learned that Mr. Buhari has not spoken to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo for several weeks following his departure from Abuja for a second round of medical treatment for an undisclosed medical condition suspected to be cancer. The sources gave the example of Wednesday last week when members of Buhari’s cabal called the Acting President and asked him to await a call from the ailing President, pointing out that no such call was received except one that was just a few seconds of hellos before the person hung up the phone. It was also learned that the public declaration by Orji Uzor Kalu, a former Governor of Abia State, that he met Buhari in London is a complete fabrication as Buhari did not at any time receive Kalu, who recently decamped to the president’s All Progressives Congress party. One particular presidencial source said they suspect Kalu was using that gimmick to intimidate the judge who is trying him for corruption, considering that he wore a turban to court a few days later. Our sources confirmed that Buhari is incommunicado, and is only reached by two aides, Tunde Saburi and Sarki Abba, who have maintained stoic silence about his condition. It is notable that when Mrs. Buhari returned from her recent trip, she sent messages to her family members in Adamawa claiming her husband was recovering fast but asked for intensification of prayers. The cabal reportedly reduced access to Buhari in an effort to control information leaks to the public. They cabal reportedly went as far as forging Buhari’s signature so as to give the impression that he is still in control even after Buhari himself had handed over power to his vice, trying to create the impression that he is still in charge. Mr. Kyari is said to be in charge of all the behind-the-scene moves. It was he, they claimed, who a few days ago passed a fake document to Garba Shehu, one of Buhari’s spokespersons, claiming that Buhari had given Osinbajo the go-ahead to sign the 2017 budget. According to their account, Osinbajo had already decided on the date he would sign the budget, a decision that was delayed only by a last-minute discussion to include some projects such as the Lagos-Apapa Port road repairs. They said they were not surprised at Mr. Shehu’s fake statement claiming Buhari sent a letter granting the Acting President the right to sign the budget. Buhari is said to be rather unaware of his environment, his memory somewhat affected. For instance, on his way to the UK, he was said to have asked if he was on his way to Sokoto. Our sources said that the cabal working with Buhari might bring him back the same way he was returned in February, in a scheme to use his presence to perpetrate more fraud and control power.

Trump Grants Authority to Pentagon to Manage Troops in Afghanistan

The Trump administration has granted the Pentagon the authority to manage troop levels in Afghanistan, according to a U.S. official who said the decision is expected to be announced on Wednesday. The move means it will likely be up to Defense Secretary James Mattis to decide whether to send more American troops to Afghanistan as has been recommended by U.S. military commanders. In late April, Trump similarly gave Mattis the authority to manage the U.S. troop levels in Iraq and Syria. Trump gives Pentagon authority to set troop levels in Syria and Iraq While a similar delegation of authority to the Pentagon for Afghanistan troop levels had been expected, it had been anticipated that it would occur after the Trump administration concluded its Afghanistan strategy review. Earlier on Tuesday, Mattis told a congressional panel that the review will be completed in mid-July. "We are not winning in Afghanistan right now, and we will correct this as soon as possible," Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee. There are about 8,400 American troops in Afghanistan advising and assisting the Afghan military in its fight against the Taliban and the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan. In February, General John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, described the military situation in Afghanistan as "a stalemate" and acknowledged the need for additional troops to help train, advise and assist the Afghan military. U.S. officials have said that as part of the strategy review the U.S. military had proposed sending 2,000 to 4,000 more American troops to Afghanistan. The delegation of troop level authority to Mattis presumably means that the defense secretary will decide how many additional American troops could be headed to Afghanistan. The move restores the process that had been in place prior to the Bush and Obama administrations. Defense Department officials portrayed the return of Pentagon control over Iraq and Syria troop levels as giving military commanders more flexibility and better management of their

200 Democrats file law suit against Trump

200 Democratic lawmakers have joined together to bring a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, alleging he breached a clause of the Constitution that forbids foreign payments and gifts. The Congressional lawsuit alleges that Trump through his business interests has been in violation of the so-called emoluments clause of the Constitution -- which prohibits a president from accepting foreign gifts or payments without consent from Congress -- since he took office in January. The 196 members of Congress who have thus far joined the complaint -- 30 from the Senate and 166 members of the House of Representatives -- say in the suit that they sought to "obtain relief from the president's continuing violation of the foreign emoluments clause," which they said was created, in part, to prevent foreign influence. A copy of the suit was published Tuesday night by the Constitutional Accountability Center, a Washington, D.C.-based legal organization which is filing on behalf of the Congressional plaintiffs. The suit is set to be filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday. "Through this measure, the nation's founders invested members of Congress with an important role in preventing the corruption and foreign influence that the founders sought to avoid," the the suit reads, referring to the emoluments clause. "President Donald J. Trump has a financial interest in vast business holdings around the world that engage in dealings with foreign governments and receive benefits from those governments." Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), who helped to organize the suit along with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), said -- according to the Associated Press -- that they had gathered the "greatest number of congressional plaintiffs on any lawsuit against a president." While the 196 signers are so far all Democrats, Blumenthal and Conyers indicated they will invite their Republican colleagues to join in on the suit later on Wednesday. The lawsuit asks that Congress first obtain "consent" before "accepting any benefits from foreign states." Trump decided to maintain ownership of his company -- the Trump Organization -- after becoming president but announced in January that he would hand it over to his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump through a financial trust, in an effort to address concerns of potential conflicts of interest. The lawsuit, the third of its kind to target emoluments since Trump became president, comes just a few days after the Democratic attorneys general of Washington, D.C., and Maryland filed a similar suit, which also claimed that Trump had been in violation of the Constitution since he took office because his business accepted payments from foreign governments. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer responded to that suit at a press briefing on Monday afternoon, reiterating the administration's position that Trump is not in violation of the emoluments clause and suggested that the lawsuit was motivated by politics. "It's not hard to conclude that partisan politics may be one of the motivations behind the suit," Spicer told reporters. A separate suit -- filed earlier this year by government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United Inc. and two individuals -- alleged that Trump has been in violation of the Constitution's emoluments clause as well. The Justice Department last week sought to have that suit dismissed, arguing that none of the plaintiffs suffered an injury that would give them standing to sue, according to papers filed in Manhattan federal court.

Breaking: Shooting in Alexandria, Virginia

House Majority Whip. Steve Scalise speaks to the media, May 17, 2017 in Washington, D.C.more Police are investigating a shooting at a park in Alexandria, Virginia, this morning, and initial law enforcement reports indicate that Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, was among those shot. Two officers were also shot and one suspect in custody, according to initial law enforcement reports. The Alexandria Police Department said victims were being transported to local hospitals. The FBI has arrived at the scene of the shooting, which is about 7 miles away from the White House in Washington, D.C. This is a breaking news story. Check back for update...

Apple issues $1 billion green bond

Apple issues $1 billion green bond after Trump's... Apple Inc (AAPL.O) offered a $1 billion bond dedicated to financing clean energy and environmental projects on Tuesday, the first corporate green bond offered since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris climate agreement. The offering comes over a year after Apple issued its first green bond of $1.5 billion - the largest issued by a U.S. corporation - as a response to the 2015 Paris agreement. Apple said its second green bond is meant to show that businesses are still committed to the goals of the 194-nation accord. “Leadership from the business community is essential to address the threat of climate change and protect our shared planet,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook was one of several CEOs who directly appealed to Trump to keep the United States in the pact before he made his decision. The tech giant said proceeds from the green bond sales will be used to finance renewable energy, energy efficiency at Apple facilities and in its supply chain and procuring safer materials for its products. The offering also includes a specific focus on helping Apple meet a goal of greening its supply chain and using only renewable resources or recycled material, reducing its need to mine rare earth materials. Last year, Apple allocated $442 million to 16 different projects from renewable energy to recycling from its first bond offer. One of the projects it funded was a robotic system called Liam to take apart junked iPhones and recover valuable materials that can be recycled, such as silver and tungsten - an attempt to address criticism that Apple's products, while sleek and seamless in design, are so tightly constructed that their components can be difficult to take apart. Although green bonds comprise a small fraction of the overall bond market, demand has grown significantly as investors seek lower-carbon investments. In 2016, $81 billion of green bonds were issued, double the number from 2015, according to the Climate Bonds Initiative, an organization that promotes the use of green bonds. Governments are also embracing the use of green bonds as a way to meet a 2015 pledge by world leaders to limit global warming this century to below 2 degrees

Bike Sharing hits UK streets

Bike-sharing schemes in the UK city of Oxford are quite different from the business model in China, where people don’t have to worry about finding a docking station. CGTN’s Zhang He reports that Oxford city council is very supportive of cycling as it help to reduce traffic and pollution. But it is expensive to invest in infrastructure and provide bikes for everyone, so less formal bike-sharing is not new to the locals. Agne Milukaite has launched a peer-to-peer bike sharing scheme. This “Airbnb for Bikes” community enables people to borrow bikes from local cyclists, families and vendors, from as little as ‍one British pound per day. Ofo is China's largest bike-sharing operator and it has launched a trial in Cambridge, while several companies have been in contact with Oxford city council. Each city will have a different business model and bike-sharing schemes will differ from city to city, but whether China's model can flourish in the UK remains to be seen.

China bike sharing goes to Kazaskhtan

Smart companies from China are attending the Astana Expo 2017, hoping to use the event to expand their businesses into the central Asian country. Chinese President Xi Jinping is also attending the event, together with representatives from the Shanghai Cooperation Organizaton summit. Bike-sharing service ofo is one of them and the company has just placed 1,000 cycles in Astana, Xinhua reported. People in the capital can instantly hop on after downloading the app and scanning the QR code. The famous yellow bike company announced on Friday that it had entered the Kazakh market after rounds of negotiations with local authorities. Kazakhstan is the fourth overseas market for ofo, following Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. The 1,000 bikes were deployed for a trial run, and a Russian translation was added to the app. During trial operations, the bicycle-sharing service will primarily cover the Expo area. Bike sharing is all the rage across China. The service's founder and CEO Dai Wei said he plans to roll out the service in around 20 countries and regions, mostly participating nations in the Belt and Road Initiative. The ofo bike-sharing service was launched at Peking University in 2014. It's now serving people in 120 cities. Alongside Mobike and Bluegogo, it's one of the leading players in China's current craze for affordable rent-a-bike services.

China to use facial recognition software drones in future exams

A high are the stakes and so competitive is the exam that some students resort to cheating. Authorities said over the years, students have used wireless cheating devices disguised as erasers, belts and watches. China to use facial recognition, drones to catch exam cheats Chinese education authorities have gone high-tech to catch cheaters as millions of high-school students take their “gaokao”, the annual university entrance exam seen as key to landing a lucrative white-collar job. So high are the stakes and so competitive is the exam that some students resort to cheating. Authorities said over the years, students have used wireless cheating devices disguised as erasers, belts and watches. Some also use tiny earpieces to communicate with accomplices helping them outside the exam room. The innovations have forced authorities to step up their game in response. Authorities said exam centres this year have deployed metal detectors, facial and fingerprint recognition technology, cellphone-signal blockers, wireless detectors and even drones in their fight to root out cheating. Even before the exam kicked off in earnest on Tuesday, security officers had arrested 52 people nationwide. Cheaters and their accomplices face up to seven years in jail. Universities in Shandong province have banned students from taking leave on Tuesday and Wednesday, to prevent any of them from posing as real exam takers, the official Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday. Cheating is more common for papers that include multiple choice questions such as mathematics and English. Some papers, however, such as essay-writing, confound the cheats. Essay-writing is an important section of the Chinese paper, and topics vary from province to province. In Beijing, students this year had to write about either their vision of China in 2049, the centennial of the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, or about relationships. Students in nine provinces were told to introduce China to foreigners using key words like “Belt and Road initiative”, “bike-sharing”, “high-speed railway” or “mobile payment”, in a test of their knowledge of economic trends. The province of Jiangsu, notorious for tough exams, wanted students to expound on vehicles, while neighboring Zhejiang province demanded 800-word essays on books.

The Subtle quick start guide to engaging Trump on Twitter

US president Donald Trump’s unorthodox use of Twitter during his election campaign and especially since taking office has flummoxed many governments around the world. The key questions foreign governments are asking is whether they should follow and mention the personal account of the president, @realDonaldTrump, or the institutional account, @POTUS, and how they should they engage with the president on social media. Many world leaders tweeted the customary congratulations when Trump took office on 20 January. The @realDonaldTrump account is now followed by 137 world leaders, up from 97 at the end of January, while 226 world leaders follow the official @POTUS account. Trump’s frequent use of Twitter presents unprecedented challenges to traditional diplomacy, and only a handful of world leaders have engaged directly with him on the platform. In one of her first radio interviews, Switzerland’s new president, Doris Leuthard, admitted she found Trump’s Twitter approach unexpected and worrying. “We will see if he calms down,” she said. The former German foreign minister and now president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, acknowledged: “Every president needs to develop and coin their own style,” adding, “I can't imagine that tweets will be the way to go in the long run.” The diplomatic community has been stunned by the presidential tweets and does not react directly to rebuke him, not wanting to pick a Twitter fight with the most powerful world leader. The UK Foreign Office stayed mum when President-Elect Donald Trump tweeted that former UKIP leader Nigel Farage “would do a great job” as the UK ambassador to the United States. While a spokesperson for No 10 was quick to explain that, “There is no vacancy. We already have an excellent ambassador to the US,” neither the Foreign Office nor the UK government reacted publicly on Twitter in an apparent attempt to downplay the diplomatic incident. The Canadian government decided not to reply directly to Donald Trump’s tweet claiming that “Canada has made business for our dairy farmers in Wisconsin and other border states very difficult. We will not stand for this. Watch!” However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau picked up the phone the following day to discuss bilateral trade issues with President Trump, and Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland went on Bloomberg TV to address the looming trade war. Pope Francis’s two most popular tweets are clear references to Donald Trump’s policies without mentioning the US president: “How often in the Bible the Lord asks us to welcome migrants and foreigners, reminding us that we too are foreigners!” he tweeted on 18 February; and “I invite you not to build walls but bridges, to conquer evil with good, offence with forgiveness, to live in peace with everyone,” posted on 18 March. Only a handful of world leaders have directly addressed @realDonaldTrump on Twitter. On 1 June, European Council President Donald Tusk asked President Trump not to "change the (political) climate for the worse" and pull out of the Paris climate deal. On 1 May 2017, Hilda Heine, the president of the Marshall Islands, had a similar message pleading with President Trump not to abandon the Paris agreement on fighting climate change: “From one President to another, staying in #ParisAgreement is best way to create jobs & grow economy. US has most to gain” she tweeted, as the US president declared May 2017 as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The governor of Puerto Rico replied on Twitter to Trump’s tweet stating that “Democrats are trying to bail out insurance companies from disastrous #ObamaCare, and Puerto Rico with your tax dollars. Sad!” Ricardo Rosselló hit back: “The American citizens of Puerto Rico deserve to be treated fairly. Health and civil rights are not partisan issues.” On the day President Trump issued the travel ban for citizens from a number of Middle East countries, Canadian Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau tweeted the exact opposite message: “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada.” This not so subtle sub-tweet has become the most popular tweet of any world leader over the past 12 months, with 1.2 million likes and retweets. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, who is the 12th most followed world leader on Twitter with more than 6.3 million followers on his @EPN account, is so far the only foreign leader who has replied directly to one of Donald Trump’s tweets. After a meeting with the candidate Donald Trump in September 2016, @EPN bluntly replied to Donald Trump’s tweet that “Mexico will pay for the wall!” explaining in Spanish that “Mexico would never pay for a wall”, a Twitter spat which has attracted more than 48,000 retweets. After Donald Trump signed the executive order to build the border wall, the Mexican president posted a video reply on Twitter reiterating: “I’ve said time and again; Mexico won't pay for any wall. I regret and condemn the decision of the United States to continue construction of a wall that, for years, has divided us instead of uniting us.” He added that, “Mexico doesn’t believe in walls.” When President Trump replied in a tweet that: “If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting,” Peña Nieto promptly cancelled the meeting in a tweet. Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lövin tweaked President Trump by posting a picture signing a climate bill surrounded by her female staffers, a subtle reference to the pictures from the White House showing the US president surrounded by an all-male staff when signing an executive order barring US federal funding for foreign NGOs that support abortion. At their recent meeting in Bergen, the five Nordic prime ministers from Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland openly mocked Donald Trump’s orb picture with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman. Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg shared both pictures on her Facebook page with the caption: “Who rules the world? Riyadh vs Bergen.”

Paris Terrorism again! Police shoots man outside notre dame cathedral

A man was shot by police outside Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral on Tuesday afternoon after he attacked officers with a hammer. The man, who has not been identified, it believed to have attacked an officer who was patrolling with two other policemen. One of the officers responded with two gunshots, which injured the assailant. The motive for the attack was not immediately known. A man was shot by police after he attacked an officer with a hammer outside Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral A man was shot by police after he attacked an officer with a hammer outside Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral Officials warned people to stay away from the area after saying there was an 'incident' at the popular tourist destination, after a hammer-wielding man was shot by a police officer Officials warned people to stay away from the area after saying there was an 'incident' at the popular tourist destination, after a hammer-wielding man was shot by a police officer At least one person on the scene said on Twitter that he was inside the church and could hear sirens outside At least one person on the scene said on Twitter that he was inside the church and could hear sirens outside He later said that officials were not letting anyone in or out of the cathedral He later said that officials were not letting anyone in or out of the cathedral Police union official Cedric Michel said the man armed with a hammer went after the police officer who was patrolling on the esplanade in front of Notre Dame Cathedral. Police sources said the officers shot at the man after he refused to stop threatening them with the hammer. It is unclear whether the attacker was acting alone. One officer was lightly injured and the assailant was shot in the thorax, according to one source. Emergency responders were on scene after the incident, according to Europe 1. Police had earlier said they were dealing with an incident in the courtyard outside the world-famous tourist site amid reports of panic and gunshots in the area. Police arrived at the cathedral amid reports of gunshots and panic. Many people were stuck inside the cathedral at the time Police arrived at the cathedral amid reports of gunshots and panic. Many people were stuck inside the cathedral at the time Police boats were patrolling the river near the Notre Dame Cathedral after the incident on Tuesday Police boats were patrolling the river near the Notre Dame Cathedral after the incident on Tuesday Officials warned people to stay away from the area after saying there was an 'incident' at the popular tourist destination. At least one person on the scene said on Twitter that he was inside the church and could hear sirens outside. 'So we are trapped in Notre Dame Cathedral,' Matthew CurrieHolmes wrote on Twitter. 'Something is happening outside we don't know what it is. Police sirens can be heard.' He later said that officials were not letting anyone in or out of the cathedral. The police department tweeted about the operation on Tuesday afternoon but did not provide any details. A police official would not provide further information. Large numbers of police cars filled the area on the Ile de Cite island in the River Seine in the center of Paris. France remains on high alert after a series of deadly terror attacks in recent years. Police had earlier said they were dealing with an incident in the courtyard outside the world-famous tourist site amid reports of panic and gunshots in the area Police had earlier said they were dealing with an incident in the courtyard outside the world-famous tourist site amid reports of panic and gunshots in the area The police department tweeted about the operation on Tuesday afternoon but did not provide any details. A police official would not provide further information The police department tweeted about the operation on Tuesday afternoon but did not provide any details. A police official would not provide further information Large numbers of police cars filled the area on the Ile de Cite island in the River Seine in the center of Paris Large numbers of police cars filled the area on the Ile de Cite island in the River Seine in the center of Paris France remains on high alert after a series of deadly terror attacks in recent years, including one in April France remains on high alert after a series of deadly terror attacks in recent years, including one in April In April, traffic officer Xavier Jugele was shot dead while on duty on the Champs Elysees just days before the French presidential election. ISIS claimed the killing by 39-year-old Karim Cheurfi, who was shot dead by police in a gun battle. Two other officers were injured in the attack. A month earlier a convicted criminal with links to radical Islam shouted 'I am here to die for Allah, there will be deaths' seconds before he was shot dead during an attack at Paris Orly airport. The 39-year-old, named locally as career criminal Ziyed Ben Belgacem, was killed after wrestling a soldier's gun from her and fleeing into a McDonald's. He sent a text message to his brother and father stating 'I shot the police', shortly before he was killed. It followed the shooting in February of a man outside the Louvre museum in the heart of Paris after he attempted to storm the historic art gallery. Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral is a tourist hotspot in the French city, with visitors travelling from all over to see the structure Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral is a tourist hotspot in the French city, with visitors travelling from all over to see the structure On July 14 last year amid Bastille Day celebrations in the Riviera city of Nice, a large truck was driven into a festive crowd killing 86 people. The driver was shot dead. ISIS extremists claimed responsibility for the attack. Just 12 days later two ISIS fanatics stormed into a church in Normandy and slit the throat of a priest as he was celebrating mass. A month earlier, two French police officers were murdered in their Paris home in front of their three-year-old son. Again ISIS claimed responsibility for the slaying, which was carried out by a jihadist with a prior terrorist conviction. He was killed by police on the scene. The killings came after a massacre in the French capital in November 2015 in which ISIS militants went on the rampage murdering 130 people. They used machine guns to slaughter revellers at the Bataclan music hall and in bars and restaurants in some of the city's most popular night spots. A suicide bomber also targeted to Stade de France stadium. The atrocity led to the declaration of a state of emergency in France. In January the same year, two brothers killed 11 people inside the Paris building where the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is headquartered in what ISIS claimed was retaliation for the publication of cartoons about the Prophet Muhammad. More were killed subsequently in attacks on a kosher market in eastern Paris and on police. There were 17 victims in all, including two police officers. The attackers are killed.

Trump's Twitter Gamble

It was a jaw-dropping day in any normal presidency. Which is to say, almost any presidency other than that of Donald J. Trump. In the aftermath of the weekend terror attack in London, Trump repeatedly attacked that city’s mayor on Twitter, while criticizing his own Department of Justice and undercutting DOJ’s legal rationale for his troubled travel ban on residents of six Muslim-majority countries. In his Twitter-targeting of London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, who is Muslim, Trump misrepresented Khan’s comment that Londoners shouldn’t be alarmed by the increased police presence on the streets as a result of the attack, making it sound as though Khan meant Londoners shouldn’t be alarmed by the attack itself. Then, after a mayoral spokesman accurately noted that Trump’s tweet “deliberately takes out of context” Khan’s comment, Trump re-tworted that that response was a “pathetic excuse by London mayor Sadiq Khan, who had to think fast on his ‘no reason to be alarmed’ statement.” If that conduct was unbecoming in an American president, Trump’s tweets about his court-stayed travel policy were astonishing. He confirmed what critics have said all along: It’s meant to be a ban on Muslims. He at first tweeted: “People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN.” He then followed up this way: “The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.” Our conservative columnist offers a weekly take on everything from politics to pet peeves. If construed as a Muslim ban, Trump’s executive order would likely have a much harder time passing Supreme Court scrutiny. As it is, lower courts have blocked two versions of the policy. Last week, an appeals court upheld the stay of Trump’s revised executive order, saying that order “drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination.” Among other things, the courts have cited Trump’s campaign call for a ban on Muslims, saying that lends weight to the claim that effectuating such a ban is the administration’s true goal. DOJ, however, argues that campaign-trail talk doesn’t deserve that much legal weight. Trump’s latest tweets could hurt effort to restore travel ban In a tweet, the president called the current version of the ban ‘‘politically correct,’’ ignoring that he himself signed the executive order for it. Trump blasts his own Justice Dept. over travel ban Trump calls for courts to reinstate his travel ban amid London attacks So it’s significant that President Trump has now conceded his order is a ban. The fact that his acknowledgment came via Twitter shouldn’t matter. It is, after all, a statement from the president, one that speaks directly to the issue at hand. Further, even if the Supreme Court were to accept DOJ’s argument — that is, that a 90-day pause on travelers from those six countries is needed while the administration evaluates the current entry rules and makes changes — it has now been more than three months. One interesting question is why Trump dropped the pretense about the ban. Is this merely a case of a president who can’t keep his story straight? Did Trump decide he wanted to strike a resonant chord with his base, legal consequences be damned? Or has he made a more complex calculation that tweeting now will let him say “I told you so” if the Supreme Court doesn’t reinstate his order and a terrorist attack somehow involving one of those Muslim nations then occurs in the United States? The profound cynicism shown by this administration about governing makes nearly anything possible. We may never know. All we do know is that Trump has seldom looked less like a serious, competent, high-minded president than he did on Monday. And that’s sad.

Muslim travel ban!!! say it like it is "trump says..."

President Trump rebelled on Monday against his own advisers who “watered down” his original executive order barring visitors from select Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States and who insisted on calling it something other than a travel ban. Returning to one of the issues that animated the early days of his presidency and generated a court battle that has now gone to the Supreme Court, Mr. Trump argued that it was a mistake to revise the first order he signed and suggested that his administration should return to a “much tougher version.” In a series of Twitter posts just two days after a terrorist attack killed at least seven people in London, Mr. Trump seemed to reject everything his own administration has done to win court approval for restrictions on entry from countries that he designated, both in terms of vocabulary and in terms of its provisions. “People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!” he wrote. It was his own staff who insisted it was not a travel ban. Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, spent much of one early briefing telling reporters not to call it a travel ban. Mr. Trump went on to express frustration that after his original order was thrown out by the courts, his administration rewrote it in an effort to pass judicial muster. The second version was also rejected, and the administration last week appealed to the Supreme Court. “The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.,” he wrote. He added: “The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court — & seek much tougher version!” Mr. Trump’s language suggested that the decision was somehow made by someone other than him, even though the Justice Department acts on the president’s orders in matters of policy such as this. The second version he criticized on Monday took Iraq off the list of countries that would be affected and made clear that the restrictions did not apply to those who hold green cards or valid visas. It also eliminated a provision that seemed to prioritize Christian refugees for entry. The revised version, like the first, barred all refugees from entering the country for 120 days and from Syria indefinitely. It barred entry for 90 days for any visitors from six countries: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. “In any event we are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the U.S. in order to help keep our country safe,” Mr. Trump wrote on Monday. “The courts are slow and political!

China citizens get their news 70 percent from their mobile phones

In BEIJING, More than 500 million Chinese now read news on their mobile devices, accounting for more than 70 percent of the nation's netizens, said a report on China's journalism development on Wednesday. The report by the All-China Journalists Association, said that social networks and news apps have become an increasingly important channel for people to obtain information. China's media industry reached 1.3 trillion yuan (186 billion U.S. dollars) in 2015, increasing by 12.3 percent from 2014. In 2014, the internet accounted for 47.2 percent of the media industry and the figure increased to 51.8 percent in 2015. In the first half of last year, internet advertising spending grew by 26.9 percent, 10 percentage points more than the same period in 2015. Technological development has become a powerful impetus for media reform, the report said, citing the use of big data, cloud computing, news -writing robots, drones and virtual reality technologies.

Nationwide US rallies against Sharia and radical Islam

There are indications that there will be a nationwide rally against sharia and radical Islam in America. The march which is scheduled for June 10 will run in several cities and there are even calls for more cities to be added to the list. It is not yet known how successful this will be, however the feeling across America now is surely against radical Islam, especially with the recent bombing of the Manchester Arena #ManchesterArena, the American government may have scaled up its security upgrades. On the pages of Pax Hart @paxhart there many views and people have already started taking sides. Check the hastag #MarchAgainstSharia.

Ransonware Warning!!! A new type of virus disguised as movie/music subtitle file may takeover your computer completely

WASHINGTON, Millions of users worldwide are under threat from a new type of cyberattack, which means their computers might fall into hackers' complete takeover while enjoying foreign movies. The crafted subtitle files would allow attackers to take "complete control" over any type of device via vulnerabilities found in many popular streaming platforms, Check Point, the world's largest pure-play security vendor, warned on Tuesday. The virus could get access to users' digital devices while they are visiting a malicious website or running a malicious file on their computers. Unlike traditional attack vectors, which security firms and users are widely aware of, the subtitles are, in practice, usually perceived as nothing more than benign text files. When anti-virus software vet them without trying to assess their real nature, hundreds of millions of PC, smart TV, and mobile device users will be exposed to the risk. The report says the exploit is one of the "most widespread, easily accessed and zero-resistance vulnerability" in recent years. The worst scenarios include but are not limited to sensitive information theft, "ransomware" installation, or even mass Denial of Service attacks. To date, researchers have tested and found vulnerabilities in some of the most prominent media players like VLC, Kodi, Popcorn Time and Stremio, and "have reasons" to believe they exist in other media players as well. Media player developers are publishing the platform update to defend -- with some of the issues fixed and some still under investigation, the report says.

RANSONWARE HACKING: NEW WAVE OF HACKING MAY BE CLOSER THAN WE THINK

In WASHINGTON, May 25 it is said that Millions of users worldwide are under threat from a new type of cyberattack, which means their computers might fall into hackers' complete takeover while enjoying foreign movies. The crafted subtitle files would allow attackers to take "complete control" over any type of device via vulnerabilities found in many popular streaming platforms, Check Point, the world's largest pure-play security vendor, warned on Tuesday. The virus could get access to users' digital devices while they are visiting a malicious website or running a malicious file on their computers. Unlike traditional attack vectors, which security firms and users are widely aware of, the subtitles are, in practice, usually perceived as nothing more than benign text files. When anti-virus software vet them without trying to assess their real nature, hundreds of millions of PC, smart TV, and mobile device users will be exposed to the risk. The report says the exploit is one of the "most widespread, easily accessed and zero-resistance vulnerability" in recent years. The worst scenarios include but are not limited to sensitive information theft, "ransomware" installation, or even mass Denial of Service attacks. To date, researchers have tested and found vulnerabilities in some of the most prominent media players like VLC, Kodi, Popcorn Time and Stremio, and "have reasons" to believe they exist in other media players as well. Media player developers are publishing the platform update to defend with some of the issues fixed and some still under investigation, the report says.

Ancient Tombs Escavated in China

Two ancient tombs were discovered at a construction site in the city of Wuzhong in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, officials confirmed Wednesday. A tomb dating back to Song Dynasty (960-1127) was found Sunday when workers were digging a cable duct in Litong District, said Ren Shufang, head of the city's cultural heritage authority. The tomb, containing a female skeleton, was buried three meters deep. A bronze mirror and dozens of coins were also found, Ren said. The four Chinese characters, chang ming fu gui, meaning longevity and wealth, were carved on the back of the mirror, she said. Another tomb was unearthed three meters away under a major city road Tuesday. A blue and white porcelain bowl and a black glazed pot were found, based on which the tomb was estimated to be from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), said Ren. Archaeologists concluded that there was no connection between the two tombs. Multiple tomb clusters have been unearthed around Wuzhong and rare artifacts from various dynasties have been found. The largest cluster discovered so far included 123 tombs from the Northern Wei (386-557) and Tang (618-907) dynasties. It was excavated in 2005 and 2006 in the city's northern suburbs.

BREAKING: 3 Suicide Bomber attempts Foiled at Maiduguri Nigeria

The Police in Borno on Wednesday confirmed the killing of three suspected female suicide bombers after a failed attack near Maiduguri. Mr Victor Isuku, the spokesman for the command made the confirmation in a statement in Maiduguri. “Today at about 17.55hours, three female suicide bombers, suspected to have been conveyed by motorcycle and dropped at a distance to Mamanti village in Molai area, were sighted and intercepted by vigilant security operatives. “In the process, they hurriedly detonated explosives strapped to their bodies, killing themselves only’’, Isuku an eyewitness said. He said that a team from the Police Explosive Ordinance Department was promptly drafted to the scene to sanitise the area and restore normalcy, adding there was no civilian casualty. The police had confirmed the killing of three suspected suicide bombers after a foiled attack at the University of Maiduguri on May 19. It is also reported that on May 20 police confirmed the killing of a suspected suicide bomber after a failed attempt to carry out an attack at the University of Maiduguri on Saturday.

Liberals Demand Sharia’s Most Vile Practice Be Legalized in AMERICA

The Left in America and Europe wants to go full dhimmi just in order to win a few elections. Nowadays, liberals want to legalize a barbaric practice that is fully condoned by the Koran. Why? Because the Left sees Islam as another supporter in their war against the West, Christianity, and the nuclear family. Earlier this year, Muslim doctor Jumana Fakhruddin Nagarwala was caught red-handed by police. She was charged with countless cases of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), otherwise known as female circumcision. Because this awful practice is preached in mosques, Dr. Nagarwala’s defense lawyers are going to trial by claiming that the charges break their client’s religious liberties, via Front Page Mag. Just to be clear: Dr. Nagarwala is not the only Michigan-based doctor in trouble for performing FGMs. Dr. Fakhruddin Attar has been charged with letting Dr. Nagarwala perform these illegal surgeries in his clinic, while receptionist and secretary Fardia Attar, the wife of Dr. Attar, has also been charged. It should be noted that Dr. Nagarwala’s husband is none other than Moiz Nagarwala, the leader of the Islamic Centre in Farmington Hills. All people involved in this case are Indian Muslims belonging to the Dawoodi Bohra sect. Many of Dr. Nagarwala’s patients were between the ages of six and eight. Some were driven to Dr. Nagarwala’s clinic from Minnesota. Almost all had no idea that they were going to be operated on. Religious liberty is not even an issue. These innocent victims were scammed into unwanted body modifications by their parents and their religious brethren. The 44-year-old Dr. Nagarwala is considered such a flight risk that she is currently being kept behind bars. Investigators believe that she could flee to India or Kenya, where she has family members via Michigan. This horrible story tells us two things: 1) FGM is practiced in the United States and 2) many Muslims within this country belong to a separate nation that practices its own customs. Because of this separate nation, American Muslims are becoming like the Muslims of Europe — highly volatile, loyal to Islam first, and unwilling to see the clear evidence that there is a violence problem in Islam. Minnesota, once synonymous with people of Scandinavian descent, is now home to a jihadi factory called Minneapolis. Americans must take their country back. We cannot let disgusting practices like FGM exist on our shores. Should these doctors face jail time or be deported? Click and leave your comment of what you think.

google popular search: UK Terror Attack vivid Warning to Americans to sca...

google popular search: UK Terror Attack vivid Warning to Americans to sca...: The recent ISIS terror attack in Manchester, England has claimed the lives of at least 22 innocent people, many of which are children. I...

UK Terror Attack vivid Warning to Americans to scale up Security

The recent ISIS terror attack in Manchester, England has claimed the lives of at least 22 innocent people, many of which are children. It’s an absolute travesty and an unforgivable act of pure evil. Yes, when faced with the tragedy, liberals did not rush to fight against the forces that did this. They instead worried most about Islam looking “bad” in the public eye as well as their foolish “open borders” policies. Congressman Peter King sees this tragedy as an opportunity to wake up America and start fighting to keep these terrorists out of our country. We need to protect ourselves while we still can.

BREAKING NEWS: BILLIONARE George Soros Killed While Visiting His Home Country

George Soros, the billionaire activist who funds all of the liberal trolls on social media and pays for the anti-Trump demonstrations that turn into riots, has been killed in a small engine plane crash while visiting his home country of Hungaria. His plane went down somewhere in the Alps and hasn’t been recovered, but satellite images confirm that there’s nothing left but rubble. The Democrats and Soros’ people still haven’t confirmed the crash, but the word came from the tower that was guiding the plane in for a landing that it was his. There has been no radio contact with anyone near the crash site. More information will be unfolding.

Bombshell Colossal Lawsuit dropped on OBAMA, Italian vacation ruined

Throughout two terms in Barack Obama’s stretch as president, he and his family piled on a couple preferred customer credits on their luxurious excursions everywhere throughout the world, at colossal cost to American citizens. At the point when most golf aficionados play a couple rounds, they go to the neighborhood golf club closest to them, however, Obama exploited his presidential benefit by utilizing Air Force One as his own particular private taxi administration to stream all over for large portions of his hitting the fairway outings. Presently, the watchdog group Judicial Watch is suing the U.S. Division of Homeland Security for neglecting to react to March 24, 2017, FOIA asks for Secret Service records relating to Barack Obama’s post-administration trips that he has gone up against the general population dime since going out. Judicial Watch announced that it obtained records from the Secret Service and the Air Force in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests that show Obama family travel cost taxpayers a grand total of $ 99,714,527.82. The new Obama White House era travel records show: The March 2014 trip to Key Largo during Spring Break – where the First Family stayed at the exclusive Ocean Reef Club – cost the Secret Service$ 247,827.50: $ 182,120.33 for hotels and $ 65,707.17 in travel expenses. The total cost of that trip with previously released $ 885,683 in flight costs from the Air Force is $ 1,133,510.50. Other documents show that Michelle Obama’s February 2015 Aspen vacation cost the Secret Service a total of $ 64,807.41: $ 47,109.28 for hotels, $ 3,559.43 in rental cars and $ 14,138.70 in other travel expenses. The total cost of the trip with $ 57,068.80 in flight costs from previously released Air Force records is $ 121,876.21. Judicial Watch released documents from the Air Force concerning the 2016-2017 Obama family Christmas trip to Honolulu showing 17.9 hours flying at $ 142,380 per hour, bringing the total flight cost to $ 2,548,602. That’s nearly $ 1 Billion, so far, and he’s still leeching off of Americans! Judicial Watch also announced today that it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for Secret Service records associated with President Obama’s movements, schedule, and activities since his departure from the White House. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The suit was filed after the Secret Service failed to respond to a March 24, 2017, FOIA request seeking: All records of former President Barack Obama’s movements, schedule, activities, and / or meeting for January 21, 2017 through March 21, 2017. Such records include, but are not limited to, U.S. Secret Service schedules and activity reports. Although Obama is no longer in office, he continues to receive Secret Service protection at taxpayer expense. In January, the Obama family traveled to Palm Springs, CA. The former president also spent a few weeks in French Polynesia. No other president in American history has proceeded to coolly waste citizen cash in the wake of leaving office the way he has. Obama is no longer president, however, he is as yet living like he is and, probably, will keep on doing so until the cash prepare quits hurrying to his front entryway. There may not be much we can do about his costs while president, yet he should be considered responsible for each and every nickel of open assets he has misused as a freeloading non-military personnel.

Lagos-Nigeria Kingship (obaship) tussle in Court

About 14 years after his installation, the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, on Monday appeared in an Ikeja High Court in a suit challenging his emergence as the paramount ruler of Lagos, saying he is the bona fide monarch. “I am here to justify my appointment, you cannot build something on nothing, it will be broken. “By native law and customs and by law, I am the bona fide Oba of Lagos,” said Akiolu, who was accompanied to the court by 10 white cap chiefs. It is reported that Akiolu’s installation as the Oba of Lagos is being challenged by Prince Adedoyin Adebiyi and Prince Rasheed Modile, two members of the Lagos royal family. Joined as respondents in the suit are the state governor, the Attorney-General of Lagos State, Prince Babatunde Akitoye and Chief Junaid Eko. Both Adebiyi and Modile are claiming that Akiolu is not entitled to the throne because he is not a member of a ruling royal family by not being a direct descendant of Oba Ado, the first Oba of Lagos. According to the claimants, only members of the Ologun Kutere and Akinsemoyin ruling houses are entitled to the throne. They also alleged that proper customary rules and procedures were not followed when he was appointed as Oba in May 2003. While being led in evidence by his lawyer, Mr Adetokunbo Mumuni, Akiolu told the court the procedure he followed before being installed. “After I made my intention known to my family that I wanted to be Oba of Lagos, I applied for the throne. “In May 2003, the head of the kingmakers and the then Sole Administrator of Lagos Island Council called at my residence. “At that time I was preparing to go to the mosque and I was told that I received a letter from the state government and the State Executive Council. “The letter accepted my nomination that I have been approved to be a worthy successor of the late Oba of Lagos. “It will be exactly 14 years that my appointment was approved. “By the grace of Almighty Allah, there is nothing like rotation in the succession to the throne of Oba of Lagos,” Akiolu said. Before cross-examining Akiolu, lawyer to the claimants, Mr Babatunde Fashanu (SAN), told the court that for the purpose of the trial, Akiolu should be addressed as the defendant and not as the Oba of Lagos while in court. “I apply that all referrals to the defendant as the Oba of Lagos should be expunged from the records of this honourable court. “Within the walls of this courtroom, he is a defendant and when we step out of the courtroom, I will lie down and greet him as ‘kabiyesi’ because I am like a son to him,” he said. Akiolu also told the court that he had a prior relationship with Fashanu’s father when he was working as a lawyer during his early years of legal practice 32 years ago.. “I know your father, I used to carry files for him when we were working together.” Fashanu’s request to expunge referrals of Akiolu as Oba of Lagos was, however, not granted by the court. In responding to Fashanu’s question whether proper customary procedure was followed when he became Oba, Akiolu said he was installed according to the customs of Lagos as Oba by kingmakers. “Akiolu is a direct descendant of Oba Ologun Kutere, there is no registered declaration for the throne. “It is the old customs and the recommendations of the Price Commission which is over 100 years ago that is still valid till today.” Akiolu also debunked claims that Akiolu royal family was not one of the ruling houses because it was non-existent. He said: “Despite the letter from Lagos State Government confirming my appointment as Oba and stating that I am from the Akiolu royal family, I want to make it clear that a royal family and ruling house means the same thing. “My appointment as the king is the first time in history that kingmakers will be unanimous in selecting an Oba of Lagos.” Justice A. Candide-Johnson adjourned the case until June 19 for continuation of trial.

Supreme Court of Nigeria rules Sheriff out against Makarfi both of PDP factions

The Supreme Court, Monday, dismissed the application filed by the factional National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Modu Sheriff, against his rival, Senator Ahmed Makarfi wherein he prayed the court to stop the Supreme Court from hearing the appeal earlier filed by Senator Makarfi on March 16, challenging the February 27 ruling of the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, which declared him, Sheriff, as the legitimate National Chairman of the party. Sheriff had filed the application on March 21. At the opening of the hearing on Monday, Mr. Sheriff’s lawyer, Akin Olujimi, said the application was an abuse of court process because Mr. Makarfi ought to have requested the leave of court before making the application. Sheriff had argued that the Makarfi’s faction was not recognised by the party and that he "Sheriff" as the legitimate chairman did not authorise anyone to file an appeal on behalf of the party. Mr. Olujimi prayed the court to dismiss the application; Responding, Mr. Makarfi’s lawyer, Wale Olanikpekun, prayed the court to disregard the argument of Mr. Olujimi, describing them as baseless. But the Supreme Court in its ruling read by the Chief Justice of the Federation Justice Walter Onnoghen, said, according to the laws of the apex court, appeals must be filed within three months after the appeal court ruling and the application in question was so filed and as such is deemed filed. He therefore gave a unanimous ruling in favour of the Makarfi faction, and awarded an unstated fine against the faction led by Mr. Sheriff.

Archaeologists discover 13 ancient tombs in Tibet

Archaeologists have found 13 tombs, which are estimated to be between 1,800 and 2,700 years old, in Bomi County of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The tombs were discovered by construction workers during a road project in Qundo township, Nyingchi, in the second half of 2016, according to the regional institute of cultural relics. Two relatively complete human skeletons were found in two tombs, while human bones were also discovered in other graves, said Shaka Wangdu, associate researcher with the institute. Archaeologists found that the tombs appeared to follow a known burial custom, which is still seen in parts of Qundo. According to the custom, after the body has decayed, the bones are exhumed and reburied. Objects including eight complete examples of pottery, a millstone, three bronze arrowheads and iron residue were also found. "The tombs will help research into Tibetan funeral customs and human development in eastern Tibet in a period without written records," said Shaka Wangdu.

Russia's key information-infrastructure avoids major damage in WannaCry cyberattack

MOSCOW, Russian Security Council said Russia's crucial information infrastructure suffered no severe damage caused by the global WannaCry melware attack thanks to an effective anti-cyberattack state system, a Russian newspaper reported on Sunday. Russia has been creating a "system to detect, prevent and eliminate the consequences of computer attacks on the information resources of the Russian Federation" , which was previously approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a decree, Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Oleg Khramov was quoted by Russian newspaper Kommersant as saying. "We have managed to avoid serious damage due to the mentioned state system. The critical information infrastructure was ready to resist a massive spread of this virus," Khramov said. Russia's critical information infrastructure includes the information systems in the sectors of defense, healthcare, energy, transport, communications, banking and finance. A massive number of organizations across the globe have been targeted by the WannaCry malware since last Friday. Hackers used the Trojan encryptor to lock computers and demand a payment for the decryption. So far, the WabbaCry ransomware attack has spread to 150 countries, crippling hospitals, schools, governments and businesses.

China bike sharing going global

CHINA is considering regulating bike-sharing services that are booming nationwide but causing a significant challenge to urban management. The Ministry of Transport began to solicit pubic opinion Monday on draft rules requiring local governments to better manage bike-sharing and arrange orderly parking. The draft states that parking zones should be established around major transportation hubs, shopping areas and office blocks and the parking of shared bikes should be supervised and orderly.

The draft also requires construction of cycleways and suggests the bike-sharing sector should use real-name registration. In addition, the rules forbid children under the age of 12 from riding shared bikes and bans shared electric bikes. The bike-sharing business took off in big Chinese cities less than two years ago. It allows riders to hire bikes for as little as one yuan (about 15 U.S. cents) per hour via a mobile app and drop them off anywhere for the next user. The service has reduced traffic congestion and cut auto emissions, while haphazardly parked bikes often block sidewalks and lead to complaints. There were 18.9 million users of shared bicycles nationwide in 2016. The number is expected to hit 50 million by the end of the year.

Trump's looming Impeachment and visit to Saudi Arabia

Trumpeters played and jets flew overhead with red white and blue smoke trails decorating the sky as Trump emerged from Air Force One in Riyadh. Middle East expert Ilan Goldenberg is just back from a trip to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which included meetings with high-level government officials. "I think they were very optimistic about President Trump," says Goldenberg, who runs the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. That might be surprising considering some of the ways Trump disparaged Saudi Arabia as a presidential candidate. A check of his Twitter feed shows multiple tweets accusing Saudi Arabia of "freeloading," including this one from June of 2015. That was a familiar refrain on the campaign trail. At a rally in Green Bay, Wis., in August, Trump said, "We have military bases that we rent — we pay rent to Saudi Arabia to protect them. No, no — think of it. ... Think of the stupidity." And in a general election debate last year, Trump blasted Hillary Clinton because the Clinton Foundation had taken money from Saudi Arabia. But his remarks were as much a criticism of the country's human rights record as of her. President Trump's First Foreign Trip Will Include Red-Carpet Welcome In Saudi Arabia. President Trump's First Foreign Trip Will Include Red-Carpet Welcome In Saudi Arabia "I'd like to ask you right now why don't you give back the money that you've taken from certain countries that treat certain groups of people so horribly?" he said. There's also the matter of the executive orders President Trump signed aimed at halting travel — at least temporarily — from several majority-Muslim countries in the name of security. Critics see them as "Muslim bans." But none of that, experts said, was likely to dampen the enthusiasm for Trump in the Persian Gulf region. Why? Part of it has to do with the contrast between the new U.S. president and his predecessor, President Obama. "For the Saudis, anyone is better than Barack Obama," Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institution said. "That was a really low point from their perspective." Obama never really developed a rapport with Arab leaders, Hamid said. And they were particularly put off by Obama's willingness to negotiate with Iran, Saudi Arabia's main rival in the region. Wading Into Murky Waters, Trump Trip To Advocate Religious Unity Wading Into Murky Waters, Trump Trip To Advocate Religious Unity "Even if they have some concerns about Trump and his unpredictability, they still see him (Trump) as an improvement. And they're enthusiastic in part because of Trump's strong rhetoric against Iran." There are other reasons leaders in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have an affinity for Trump. "Trump has a strongman persona. And that endears him to autocratic leaders in the Middle East," Hamid said. "They never liked that Obama would bring up human rights concerns in their meetings. They don't have to worry about that as much with President Trump, who is not prioritizing human rights or democracy." Jerry Feierstein, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, agreed that Trump's persona has helped endear him to these leaders. Trump's tendency to run the government like a family business, with a close circle of advisers like his daughter and son-in-law, isn't seen as a negative in a part of the world run by extended families and monarchies, he said. "For them, Donald Trump is a very understandable and relatable individual," Feierstein said. "He's a sympathetic character. He behaves the same way they behave." This isn't to say Trump is universally popular among the citizens of the Gulf countries. However, he is unlikely to face protests while in Saudi Arabia — because that sort of public show of dissent isn't allowed.

Deranged car driver kills girl and 22 others

A deranged motorist mounted a sidewalk and plowed into pedestrians in Times Square Thursday — killing one and injuring 22 others, cops and sources said. The driver Richard Rojas, 26, of the Bronx, was taken into custody following his three-block rampage, authorities said. The Navy vet, who has two prior DWI arrests, was believed to be high on K2 and wracked by delusional thoughts. Sources said Rojas told cops something along the lines of, “This was the last day on earth.” Deadly Times Square crash marks latest tragedy for tourist hub. Rojas also claimed to hear voices and suggested that he believed cops were going to kill him. "This wasn’t like a normal interview,” a source said. “He’s rambling.” Police arrest 26-year-old Richard Rojas, who has a criminal history of impaired driving, at the scene of the crash. Police arrest 26-year-old Richard Rojas, who has a criminal history of impaired driving, at the scene of the crash. Rojas’ maroon Honda Accord carved a path of destruction along Seventh Ave. just before noon, knocking down pedestrians on the sidewalk like bowling pins, police and witnesses said. “It looked like he was trying to hit them,” said witness Annie Donahey, 24. “He wasn’t trying to go back on the street.” Brave bystanders 'knocked' out driver in Times Square crash Michigan tourist Alyssa Elsman, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her 13-year-old sister was injured, officials said. “I just found out,” Elsman’s sobbing aunt said. Four victims were rushed to area hospitals in critical condition. A wrecked vehicle sits at the intersection of 45th St. and Broadway in Times Square. They suffered “open fractures and multiple traumas” but the injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, said FDNY Commissioner Dan Nigro. Shameless duo snap selfies amid Times Square death, devastation. Three suffered serious injuries, and 15 others sustained minor injuries, authorities said. “This is a tough day for New York City, but as usual, the people of New York City will stand firm, will be resilient,” Mayor de Blasio said. De Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill rushed to the scene fearing that the incident was an act of terror. In a news conference at the scene, they repeated several times that the incident didn’t appear to be terror-related. Costumed teen photobombs, menaces Times Square tourist. A speeding vehicle has struck at least 14 pedestrians on a sidewalk in New York City's Times Square, killing one person and seriously injuring another. Police have taken a suspect into custody. The New York Police Department closed off the area after the collisions occurred on on Thursday, just before noon, at the corner of 45th. “The worst went through my mind and that’s why the mayor and I came here as quickly as we could,” O’Neill said. Rojas was traveling south on Seventh Ave. when he inexplicably made a sharp U-turn and roared onto the sidewalk, cops said. The car barreled into nearly two dozen pedestrians as it sped along the sidewalk for more than three blocks, cops said. Witnesses said the driver kept going even as a body clung to his windshield. Brooklyn man swinging 3-foot sword in Times Square busted Donahey said she heard several sickening “thuds” as the car mowed down the crowds enjoying the sunny weather. Alyssa Elsman, 18, was killed in Times Square Thursday after a car struck her and 22 other pedestrians. “It was the sounds of bodies being hit. Then came the screams," she said. “People were jumping out of the way, but he just kept going.” The road rampage ended at W. 45th St. when Rojas’ sedan slammed into a stanchion and flipped on its side. Eleven hurt in two-car accident on Staten Island “Thank God that he hit it or he would have went right into Swatch,” said street vendor Duane Jackson, 64. Rojas tried to flee the scene but was grabbed by a pair of bystanders. He’s being tested for alcohol and drugs. An injured woman lies on the sidewalk after the brutal collision. An injured woman lies on the sidewalk after the crash. An injured woman lies on the sidewalk after the brutal collision. “He was on something definitely,” said witness Anthony McInnis, 49. “He was sweating like crazy. He was erratic.” Rojas’ Honda left behind a three-block trail of wounded victims, pools of blood and scattered car parts. “It was total chaos, total shock,” said Kelly Graves, 54, a tourist from Wisconsin. “You didn’t know what happened until you actually saw people and the police running and people laying on the sidewalk.” Rojas’ friends said he was out drinking last night and appeared to be in good spirits. “This is really crazy,” said pal Jose Medrano. “He doesn't cause trouble. This is really weird. He's a low key person. He’s a family man.” Rojas’s most recent DWI arrest took place in Manhattan in 2015. He was busted on the same charge in Queens in 2008, cops said. Rojas was also arrested in May for menacing.

Google is making another go at getting cheap Android phones to support its latest software, an attempt to lock more consumers in the developing world into the internet giant’s services. The new program, called Android Go, was announced at the Alphabet Inc. division’s I/O developer conference on Wednesday in Mountain View, California. It bakes features directly into Google’s mobile operating system that are designed specifically for cheap phones, including software to manage cellular data costs. The service will launch in 2018. Google releases a new Android operating system every year, but most devices running the software use older versions. These phones do not get as frequent security and feature updates, a persistent problem for the company. India has more active Android users than the U.S., Sameer Samat, a Google executive, said on stage on Wednesday. But in countries like this, the high cost of mobile data is a major barrier to consumers buying smartphones and using Google services. Android Go has a feature that more easily tracks mobile data usage and ties automatically with the billing systems of wireless carriers, Samat said. Google also designed the service to minimize data usage on bandwidth-hungry services like YouTube. Previously, Google tried to solve this low-end phone issue with a program called Android One. The service was designed to tailor the latest Android operating system for phones costing around $100 or less. However, it failed to take off in key markets, like India, because the companies that manufactured the devices couldn’t make much money just selling the hardware. In an interview, Samat said that the Android One program is continuing, although it dropped the earlier effort to work with phones at the $100 price point. Less Data Usage Android Go will only be available on phones that run Google’s upcoming software version, available next year. So far, most manufacturers have avoided shipping the latest Android on cheap phones to save costs. But Samat said the changes coming with Android Go will convince the hardware partners to change course. The new software is designed to run versions of Google apps that require less data. Samat mentioned YouTube as one app, but declined to name others. Google will also be curating a list of apps in its digital store that are designed for light data usage. "That’s a selling proposition that people can get excited about," Samat said. Facebook Inc. tried a similar app-curation strategy -- picking a suite of services to "zero-rate," or subsidize the data charge. That effort fell flat after considerable pushback in countries like India. Samat said Google isn’t using zero-rating in its initial Android Go version. On stage, Samat demonstrated a novel way for Android users to track their mobile data usage and even pay their monthly or pre-paid mobile-phone bills via Google Play. Google has set up carrier billing options in its Play store in 55 countries with 140 telecom partners. The company doesn’t disclose its Play store sales. Samat declined to share any carrier or manufacturing partners Google has with Android Go.

Another chibok girl found

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday confirmed that another Chibok schoolgirl had been found, barely 12 days after the release of the 82 abducted girls by their captors. Mr Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, who made this known to State House correspondents in Abuja, said the recovery of the girl was announced by the acting president during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday. According to him, the affected girl has been brought to Abuja to join her colleagues who were rescued from captivity. “The Federal Executive Council’s meeting, the Vice-President broke the cheering news to members of the cabinet and after that I have also spoken to defence people who confirmed it. “The details are yet to fully unravel . But in terms of is it true- yes, it is true. I learnt she is already being brought to Abuja, but I have not seen her The presidential aide expressed the hope that the remaining Chibok schoolgirls and other Nigerians in captivity would soon be rescued. He also dismissed the assertion that members of the Boko Haram sect had started regrouping in the Sambisa forest, saying that the Federal Government had the capacity to confront any security challenge arising from any part of the country. “One thing you can be sure of is that this government has the capacity to confront any security challenge that arises. “So, if they are regrouping they will be flushed out again. “I believe that we have seen the worst of that insurgency. We are in a mopping up process and I believe the mop up would be completed.’’ 82 girls were recently released by their captors in exchange for five Boko Haram (commanders) suspects held by the federal government. Twenty one others were released in October last year and another three also regained their freedom, in separate circumstances. They were released to international negotiators who have been working in collaboration with the federal government for their safe return since they were kidnapped in April 2014.

This sell-off will only turn into a correction if Trump's scandals puts this at risk. •Stocks in one of worst sell-offs since election on concerns Trump agenda will be impacted by latest controversy. •Strategists don't expect a major correction unless tax reform is no longer expected. •'Buy the dip' strategy expected to keep the pullback from escalating. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks sold off in the strongest reaction yet to political controversy surrounding the Trump White House, but the market is not likely to head into a serious correction unless it appears the chaos disrupts chances for tax reform. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were at record highs this week, but then Washington became the epicenter of a new series of political shockwaves that threaten to distract the White House and Congress from President Donald Trump's economic agenda. On Wednesday, the S&P fell more than 1.2 percent to 2370 in one of its strongest sell offs since the November election. The Dow was down more than 250 points, and the Nasdaq fell 1.8 percent. "If the market wasn't overvalued, I wouldn't worry so much. An overvalued market is looking for a catalyst for a correction. This could be it," said Jack Ablin, CIO of BMO Capital Markets. "I wouldn't run away from the market for fear of some sort of collapse...The U.S. market is somewhat over its skis." Treasury yields, which move opposite prices, moved lower as investors sought safety, and the dollar continued a multi-day decline. Gold futures were higher, and investors piled into the SPRDR Gold Trust, driving it 1.6 percent higher in a flight-to-safety trade. Stocks had largely been complacent about a series of recent events that raised the potential for political risk from Washington, starting last week with President Donald Trump's firing of FBI chief James Comey. Comey was investigating the ties between Trump's campaign and Russia. It was also revealed earlier this week that Trump allegedly told classified information to Russian officials, who visited the White House last week. But the stock market did react when it was revealed in news reports that Comey left behind a memo saying that the president asked him to drop his investigation into former national security advisor Michael Flynn, who was at the heart of the Russia investigation. That brought calls for impeachment from some Democrats and also raised questions of whether Trump overstepped any legal bounds. "The worst case outcome is if something happens with the presidency. The bigger thing is we're back to the question of is this bad enough to put the agenda on the back burner because they have to spend all their time defending. To me, that's really what's showing up here," said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management. "Impeachment when you've got your party controlling Congress is not going to happen…The markets are barely off their highs. It's not the end of the world." Analysts say they still expect "dip" buying, or investors with lots of cash to jump in as the market declines. That trade has also been a hallmark of the bull market. "My sense is we go down a couple of percent, and then investors come out of the wood work and buy. They're going to buy the 'impeachment' dip," said Ablin. Daniel Suzuki, equity strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, does not expect a major correction from the latest events. "Even if we were to get a correction, we'd be buyers of that dip or correction. As far as the market is concerned, it should have long lasting impact on the environment for the market and corporate profits overall," said Suzuki. Stone said the market will be looking from reassurance from Congress and other officials that the tax plan is still a top priority. Traders say they are watching to see if there are any other defections "Watch the tape today, if special prosecutors are hired or their is more talk about obstruction of justice being an impeachable offense, one can kiss the tax plan, health care plan, and fiscal stimulus plan goodbye for 2017...today is one of those days where we have to watch the politicians.... for a conservative strategy, we still like the credit space... safest for now," National Alliance's Andrew Brenner said in a note. Julian Emanuel, equity and derivatives strategist at UBS, saw Wednesday's selloff as an extension of the sideways correction under way for weeks, as the S&P 500 slowly climbed to new highs and volatility hit new lows. The VIX Wednesday surged, jumping more than 22 percent to about 13, after falling below 10 a week ago. The VIX is the CBOE's Volatility Index, based on puts and calls in the S&P 500. "To us, a correction in time morphing into a 7 to 10 percent pullback, like we've seen every seven or eight months over the course of this bull market, since 2009, is definitely something we think could be in the offing," Emanuel said. The strategist said he recommended over the weekend that investors move into June puts, or options that make a negative bet, on the S&P 500. "There is no question that politics has raised the level of uncertainty in the market which tends over time, to be something that depresses valuations. What we've had is this divergence between the economy and confidence, based on the expectations that there would be stimulative policy coming out of Washington," he said. "We haven't seen the economy picking up consistent with these elevated confidence readings. It's going to be important to watch whether the economy begins to accelerate." While stocks edged to highs, the Treasury market had moved to price out an economic bump from the Trump policies. In fact, fed funds futures are no longer forecasting two Fed rate hikes this year, based on weaker than expected data, particularly inflation. The Fed is still expected to raise interest rates in June, and it forecasts two rate hikes by year end.

US President Donald Trump meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at the White House in Washington on May 10. US President Donald Trump meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at the White House in Washington on May 10. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia is ready to provide US Congress with a transcript of the talks between President Donald Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Speaking at a press conference, Putin said the transcript could be provided "if the US administration finds it appropriate."

Former Special Adviser to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Electronic Media, Reno Omokri, has berated second republic lawmaker, Junaid Mohammed for saying should anything happen to President Muhammadu Buhari, the north will insist on being in power till 2027. The lawmaker, had recently said, “If anything happens to Buhari the north will insist on being in power till 2027, those who see Buhari as their representative and are not being treated justly are going to claim their own rights and the only way you are going to resolve the issue is that after Buhari’s administration, you have it zoned to the north for eight to 10 years.” Reacting to Mohammed’s statement, the United States, US-based Pastor said the former lawmaker should take the advise of Lagos Oba by jumping into the lagoon because all Nigerians are equal. In a post on his FaceBook wall, Omokri wrote, “Recently, Nigerians woke up to a rude and not so subtle threat issued by one cantankerous fellow, Junaid Mohammed, who has an over bloated opinion of himself and the weight his words carry in Nigeria. “Without deaming to repeat his repugnant and provocative threats, let me respond to Junaid Mohammed and any other person that thinks along those lines. First, I and those I represent pray for President Muhammadu Buhari’s recovery, but if what Junaidu Mohammed is contemplating should occur (and it is highly disappointing that Junaid should be contemplating such instead of praying for the president), then it is the Nigerian constitution that will dictate what will happen next and not Junaid, Northern Nigeria or any other part of Nigeria for that matter. “For the avoidance of doubt, there is no first class or second class citizen in Nigeria. “No part or citizen of Nigeria needs permission from another part or citizen of Nigeria before they can lay claim to what has been freely given to them by the Nigerian Constitution which is the groundnorm and basis for the existence of Nigeria. “We are all equal. And if Junaidu Mohammed and those he speaks for do not like it, they should take the Oba of Lagos’s advise and jump into the lagoon. Nothing, I repeat nothing, must happen to Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo. “His fate is in the hand of God and not in the hand of proud and presumptuous mortals like Junaid and those he speaks for! “My advise to Junaid Mohammed is that he confine his busybody to praying for the President rather than pontificate about a post Buhari Nigeria when the President is very much alive.” Jump into Lagos lagoon for saying North must rule Nigeria if Buhari dies or he should go and hug one transformer.