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  • Mexico president-elect’s party fined over marketing campaign finance

    View of supporters of Mexican presidential candidate for the MORENA party, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, during a campaign rally in Texcoco, state of Mexico, on June 17, 2018 Symbol copyright AFP Symbol caption Morena won a majority in Congress and its candidate used to be elected president

    Mexico’s electoral authority has fined the birthday celebration of President-choose Andrés Manuel López Obrador $10m (£7.7m) for breaking campaign finance rules.

    The National Electoral Institute (INE) imposed the high-quality on the Morena celebration over a trust it had created for victims of September’s devastating earthquake.

    INE stated it had discovered “profound irregularities” within the approach the consider was set up and the cash handled.

    Morena mentioned it could appeal in opposition to the advantageous, the top imposed on any celebration.

    The birthday celebration won a majority in Mexico’s Congress and its candidate, Mr López Obrador, widely known via his initials as Amlo, won the presidency within the general election on 1 July.

    Image copyright EPA Image caption The earthquake shook valuable Mexico on 19 September 2017

    However in keeping with INE, the birthday party didn’t file forming the accept as true with and didn’t claim the place the money taken out of the accept as true with went.

    The fund raised 78.8m pesos ( $4.1m; £3.2m), INE says.

    The research came after a rival birthday party, the Institutional Progressive Birthday Celebration (PRI) accused Morena of the usage of the accept as true with to channel public finances to its electoral marketing campaign.

    INE dismissed that accusation however discovered that the fund was “opaque” and broke electoral regulations which ban events from giving money on to contributors of the public.

    INE member Ciro Murayama said that “it isn’t an isolated case of irregular habits however a scheme of parallel finance where a accept as true with is created, that’s allowed, but the authorities don’t seem to be informed…

    “the purpose of the accept as true with – to give the inhabitants cash – is illegitimate for a celebration”.

    Morena’s major opponents, the PRI and the Nationwide Action Birthday Celebration (PAN), have been additionally fined, although their fines were not as top.

    PRI for funnelling state cash earmarked for workers’ salaries into their marketing campaign fund and PAN for accepting budget from non-public firms, that’s no longer allowed beneath electoral regulations in Mexico.

  • Syria warfare: Besieged towns of Foah and Kefraya evacuated

    Members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, stand as a convoy of busses gets ready to enter the towns of Fouaa and Kafraya to evacuate their residents, 18 July 2018 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Round 7,000 people have evacuated from the two towns in north-western Syria

    The evacuation of the closing besieged professional-executive cities in northern Syria has been completed, state TELEVISION reports.

    Dozens of buses and ambulances arrived on Wednesday to take 7,000 citizens and combatants from Foah and Kefraya to executive-held territory in Aleppo.

    They left below a mediated deal which incorporates the discharge of rebellion prisoners via the government.

    the two principally Shia cities had been below siege by way of opposition fighters on account that March 2015.

    Syria’s Ikhbariya TELEVISION said on Thursday morning that every one buses had left and that Foah and Kefraya have been now “empty of civilians”.

    The Previous day, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham stated that it had reached a deal with Syria’s ally Iran and that the federal government may loose 1,500 prisoners.

    The unstoppable momentum of Assad ’s struggle Why is there a warfare in Syria?

    In April 2017, FIVE,000 folks from the two cities were evacuated to Aleppo, whilst citizens from the revolt-held areas near Damascus had been taken to Idlib.

    However, the deal used to be overshadowed via a deadly bombing targeting the Foah and Kefraya evacuees and killing over 100 other people, including dozens of children.

    Population swaps had been common in the course of the Syrian conflict, but rights groups including Amnesty World have defined such agreements as “pressured displacement”.

  • Trump Putin: Democrats demand interpreter to testify

    US interpreter Marina Gross (left) with President Donald Trump (centre) and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, 16 July Symbol copyright AFP Image caption Marina Gross (left) was the one different American in the room with Mr Trump

    US competition politicians are calling for Donald Trump’s interpreter to testify earlier than Congress approximately his summit talks with Vladimir Putin.

    The lead Democrat on the Senate Foreign Members Of The Family Committee, Robert Menendez, known as for Marina Gross to be subpoenaed to look on the committee.

    Controversy has raged over the summit, with Mr Trump having to proper his own words from the press conference.

    However, it will be highly odd for an interpreter to be wondered.

    At their first bilateral summit, the 2 leaders met privately for 2 hours in the Finnish capital Helsinki on Monday with handiest their interpreters present.

    Even Trump allies shocked by means of Putin summit Russian praise for Putin after Trump summit

    Mr Trump went ahead with the assembly regardless of proceeding investigations into alleged Russian state interference within the 2016 US presidential election, which he received.

    Media playback is unsupported to your device

    Media captionPresident Trump was bombarded by way of questions as newshounds were asked to leave

    Confusion over Mr Trump’s position took some other turn whilst he appeared to reject suggestions that Russia may take a look at once more to influence American elections, prompting a hasty denial through the White House.

    Why do they would like the interpreter to talk?

    Democrats argue that as a result of she was once the one other American reputable present within the room, Ms Gross can and should provide main points of what the 2 presidents said to each different.

    “we wish the interpreter to come earlier than the committee,” Senator Menendez told MSNBC. “we wish to peer the notes. We Are going to have a big attempt to try to get to what came about.”

    Democratic Consultant Invoice Pascrell mentioned the “concessions” Mr Trump had made in public to Mr Putin intended “Congress and the yank public deserve to know the details of their non-public conversation”.

    If Ms Gross declined to appear ahead of the committee, she must be subpoenaed, he wrote.

    “we want public testimony by the one American present at this meeting to ensure Trump did not additional undermine our intelligence or regulation enforcement groups,” he mentioned.

    Skip Twitter post through @BillPascrell

    This afternoon, I wrote to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform urging it to listen to public testimony from the u.s. ’s interpreter for Trump‘s #surrendersummit. As the only different American present, our country deserves to understand what went on in that meeting. pic.twitter.com/wAoTgTDQl0

    — Bill Pascrell, Jr. (@BillPascrell) July 17, 2018

    Report

    Finish of Twitter put up through @BillPascrell

    Will she come forward?

    Interpreters are most often supposed to be all but invisible at summits and Ms Gross is a US state department employee with years of expertise translating on the absolute best degree, CNN reports.

    Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Overseas Members Of The Family Committee, mentioned he might consider the calls to summon her but puzzled the speculation.

    “they don’t seem to be policy other folks,” he informed journalists, as quoted through AFP news agency.

    “they’re in some instances agreement other folks. within the future, might any notes even be allowed to be taken in case you began doing this kind of thing?”

    He additionally talked about that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was in Helsinki with Mr Trump, could be questioned by way of the committee subsequent week.

    In Russia, Konstantin Kosachev, head of the overseas affairs committee within the higher space of parliament, said the idea of questioning an interpreter set a dangerous precedent that threatened the “entire idea of international relations”, the Related Press reports.

    Gamal Helal, an Arabic interpreter and senior adviser to 4 US presidents and 7 secretaries of state, told CNN he could not understand that this sort of state of affairs.

    “It can be a horrible precedent if a president wasn’t loose to talk one-on-one with a head of state…” he said. “If he Mr Trump spoke in English, there can be no other way for Congress to grasp what he stated, except to ask the president himself. Or Putin.”

    Why is there such controversy?

    Whilst the summit was held behind closed doorways the 2 leaders gave a news conference afterwards at which Mr Trump shocked many via protecting Russia over the allegations of election interference.

    Media playback is unsupported for your device

    Media captionTrump says he “misspoke” at Putin summit, but is it too overdue? Anthony Zurcher explains

    Contradicting his own intelligence businesses, he stated there have been no explanation for Russia to meddle within the vote.

    A day later, Mr Trump came out to mention he had “misspoken” and did actually accept US intelligence agencies’ findings that Russia had interfered.

    However, a brand new row evolved when the u.s. leader perceived to disagree with US intelligence over whether Russia was once nonetheless targeting American elections.

    Investigations into the alleged interference, denied via Russia, continue and last week the us justice department charged 12 Russian intelligence officers with hacking Democratic officers in 2016.

    Russia-Trump: Who Is who in the drama to end all dramas? Russian ‘agent presented sex for activity in US’

    (more…)

  • Israel united states profile

    map of Israel and surrounding countries

    A densely-populated usa on the japanese shore of the Mediterranean Sea, Israel is the one state in the global with a majority Jewish population.

    It has been locked in battle with the Palestinians and its Arab neighbours over possession of land thought to be holy by many Jews, Christians and Muslims considering its creation in 1948.

    The department of the former British Mandate of Palestine and the advent of the State of Israel within the years after the end of world Struggle II used to be the fruits of the Zionist motion, whose intention used to be a native land for Jews hitherto scattered in all places the world.

    Israel timeline – key dates Leaders Media profile Read extra country profiles – Profiles through BBC Monitoring

    After the Nazi Holocaust, force grew for the global recognition of a Jewish state, and in 1948 Israel declared its independence following a UN vote to partition Palestine.

    Symbol copyright AFP Politics: Safety concerns over the warfare with the Palestinians are a constant consider a political environment marked by volatile coalition governments Economic System: Israel has a various and sophisticated economic system Foreign relations: Israel faces hostility from a lot of the Arab area. the united states supplies a very powerful diplomatic and armed forces strengthen. A Few borders stay in dispute.

    Us Of A profiles compiled through BBC Tracking

    Much of the historical past of the area since that point has been certainly one of conflict between Israel on one aspect and Palestinians – represented by means of the Palestine Liberation Supplier – and Israel’s Arab neighbours, on the different. Loads of hundreds of Palestinian Arabs had been displaced within the fighting in 1948, during which Israel’s Arab neighbours came to the aid of the Arab Upper Committee in Palestine. Israel misplaced one % of its population within the preventing, which led to a sequence of uneasy armistices.

    Symbol copyright Getty Pictures Image caption The Ancient hilltop fortress of Masada is one in every of many ancient web sites to be found in Israel

  • Israeli Arab MPs condemn ‘Jewish nation state’ law

    Video Israeli Arab MPs condemn new legislation

    (more…)

  • Sacred Video Games: Netflix launches its first Indian drama collection

    Saif Ali Khan in Sacred Games Image copyright Netflix Symbol caption Saif Ali Khan plays a Sikh inspector within the Mumbai police pressure

    Netflix has launched its first original Indian collection, part of the subscription giant’s bid to woo customers within the world’s second so much populous u . s . a ..

    Sacred Games sees Bollywood stars Saif Ali Khan and Radhika Apte play a police officer and intelligence officer at the trail of a powerful felony kingpin.

    The 8-section series, filmed principally in Hindi, is the primary of 7 Indian collection that Netflix has commissioned.

    Others come with an model of Sir Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Youngsters.

    “India is seeing the biggest and quickest funding in content material for any u . s . we’ve introduced in,” mentioned Erik Barmack, Netflix’s vice-president of global originals.

    Symbol copyright AFP Symbol caption Billboards for the collection lately festoon the Mumbai skyline

    Different Indian series in the pipeline come with Ghoul, a horror set in a covert detention centre, and Crocodile, a homicide mystery set in Goa.

    Mr Barmack advised BBC Information the series “constitute the super diversity that Indian storytelling holds for an international target audience”.

    He stated: “We’re if truth be told commissioning extra presentations and flicks in India relative to the time that we’ve been in market than another territory out of doors the u.s..”

    the availability of cheap knowledge and the burgeoning number of smartphone customers have made India one in all the world’s fastest-growing web markets.

    Yet Netflix faces stiff festival from homegrown apps like Hotstar and Voot, while Amazon High has 11 million per thirty days subscribers, when put next with Netflix’s five million.

    Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. when you have a narrative advice e-mail entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

  • Storm over India movie on girls who ‘smoke, drink and have sex’

    Cast of Veere Di Wedding Image copyright Veere Di Wedding/Facebook web page Symbol caption Social media and critics are divided on the movie’s message

    A Bollywood summer film that presentations female bonding among 4 laborious drinking, foul-mouthed pals has sparked a social media hurricane.

    Set in south Delhi, one in every of India’s poshest neighbourhoods, Veere Di Marriage Ceremony is about a gaggle of faculty pals who’re now grown up independent girls. The movie is set four BFFs (highest buddies eternally) and a wedding long gone incorrect.

    The 4 friends swear freely, drink and throw up with equivalent speed, and feature flings.

    They deal with acquainted Indian social tropes like the distaste for organized marriages, weight problems, being judged via pals and relatives, hanging up with the pressures of a large fats over-the-most sensible wedding ceremony, and balancing parental approval and those of husbands’ families.

    Their open and informal swearing and dialogue in their sexual wishes seems a breath of clean air for an Indian film. The 4 ladies are unapologetic about short of intercourse or their flippant display of wealth.

    Symbol copyright Veere Di Wedding Ceremony/Facebook page Image caption The movie revolves round 4 very best buddies and a wedding long gone unsuitable

    ‘Flying solo’

    Veere Di Wedding started trending on Twitter quickly after a a success liberate, as a group of audience attacked the actor Swara Bhaskar, who performs one in all the female leads, for a scene which displays her masturbating.

    considered one of them stated he was “embarrassed” about the scene as he had taken his granny along to watch the movie.

    Image copyright SwaraBhaskar/Facebook web page Image caption A scene involving masturbation has ended in a social media hurricane

    “the girls have a pleasant chemistry however the film’s erroneous notions of feminism are its undoing,” says film critic Rajiv Masand.

    Others who have supported Bhaskar on Twitter have also now not stopped themselves from pronouncing that the film subscribes to regressive notions of feminine sexuality.

    One critic said the film used to be a “wasted opportunity”, stacked with clichéd stereotypes approximately modern women:

    Symbol copyright Getty Images Symbol caption Veere Di Wedding is Bollywood’s personal woman gang film

    while the social media storm continues, Veere Di Wedding seems to have given a fillip to ladies-led films in Bollywood, which has been traditionally squeamish about coping with taboo subjects like feminine masturbation. The breezy summer movie has damaged some myths approximately Indian ladies and its luck proves that it has found an approving audience.

    The producers and filmmaker Shashanka Ghosh need to be satisfied – the film is already certainly one of this year’s largest hits, an impressive success for an all-female lead movie and Veere Di Wedding Ceremony has been referred to as Bollywood’s own Sex and the town.

    Veere Di Wedding works because it does not take itself severely and the four feminine leads show how friendships paintings. There are numerous instances where they push each other’s buttons, and also make stronger one another while the chips are down.

    Bollywood, which has method too many bromances, has in the end come up with its personal girl gang film.

    Film critic Sharanya Gopinathan writes that “it is rare for a Bollywood movie that dives into the randomness, particularities, humour and fun of being female and having excellent feminine buddies, and the ability that contributors of a bunch like that can draw from each other”.

    Going via its growing box-administrative center luck, Veere Di Wedding, regardless of its fault strains, is thankfully retaining up the card for plenty of feminine a laugh this season.

    Sudha G Tilak is a Delhi-based totally impartial journalist

  • Macron aide Benalla in French probe for beating protester

    Alexandre Benalla acted as security guard for Emmanuel Macron during his presidential campaign Image copyright Getty Images Symbol caption Alexandre Benalla (R) played a number one safety role throughout Emmanuel Macron’s presidential campaign

    French prosecutors are investigating a senior presidential aide, who attacked protesters in Paris at the same time as wearing a police visor.

    Alexandre Benalla, an assistant to President Emmanuel Macron’s chief of body of workers, used to be filmed targeting a girl and a person throughout Might Day protests.

    He was once stuck on video by way of a student activist and left the scene as soon as challenged on camera.

    He was once recognized from the video by way of French newspaper Le Monde.

    The incident happened in a popular vacationer spot at Place de l. a. Contrescarpe within the fifth district of Paris.

    it is not clear if Mr Benalla was attending the disturbance in any roughly respectable capability. Different photographs show him wearing a police armband.

    Elysée palace spokesman Bruno Roger-Petit mentioned Mr Benalla were suspended for 2 weeks with out pay from FOUR to 19 Would Possibly, a punishment defined as the heaviest up to now meted out to a head of venture working on the presidential office.

    He had also been moved out of his function of organising security for the president’s visits.

    However, French TV stated that Mr Benalla had additionally been managing security for 2 key events this month, together with the parade of the arena Cup-profitable France soccer group alongside the Champs-Elysées.

    Paris prosecutors introduced on Thursday they had been commencing a initial investigation into the alleged assault.

    Before Mr Benalla joined the presidential workforce he had the function of head of safety right through Mr Macron’s election campaign in 2017.

    Asked if he had trust in his bodyguard on Wednesday night time, President Macron pointed to a member of his entourage. “My bodyguard’s over there,” he said.

  • Israel shoots down Syrian drone with Patriot missile

    July 11 (UPI) — Military officers said they shot down a Syrian drone Wednesday that flew a few miles into Israeli territory over the ocean of Galilee.

    Israeli officials stated the unmanned drone caused rocket alert sirens in Golan Heights and Jordan Valley close to the Israel-Syria border, and was flown into Israel through Jordan.

    The drone flew for SIXTEEN minutes before it used to be intercepted.

    After it used to be shot through a U.S.-supplied Patriot missile, drone fragments fell into the water.

    “The Patriot aerial protection system recognized the danger and tracked it till its interception,” an IDF spokesperson mentioned. “The IDF will not allow any violation of Israeli airspace and will act in opposition to any try to harm its civilians.”

    The shoot-down got here weeks after Israeli forces fired at any other drone from Syria. The IDF has not yet stated exactly who flew either drone.

    “we’re prepared for the possibility of Israeli sovereignty being violated as a result of the preventing in Syria,” IDF Spokesperson Ronen Manelis stated. “Our purpose is not to allow the 1974 settlement to be violated and to not create a chance for the State of Israel.”

    The disagreement occurred as Israeli High Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Moscow to satisfy with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He instructed newshounds in advance he was once assembly with Putin to talk about Syria, Iran and “Israel’s safety needs.”