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HIV outbreak sparks panic in southern Pakistan

Parents worry that their children's futures have been irreparably harmed after contracting HIV. AFP Photo.

by Ashraf KHAN

R

ATO DERO, Pakistan | AFP | Thursday 5/15/2019 Parents nervously watch as their children wait to be tested for HIV in a village in southern Pakistan, where hundreds of people have been allegedly infected by a doctor using a contaminated syringe.

Dispatched to keep order, police scan the anxious crowd as families hustle into one of five different screening rooms set up in the last month in the village of Wasayo, on the outskirts of Larkana in Sindh province.

Health officials say more than 400 people, many of them children, have tested HIV positive in recent weeks as experts warn of a surge in infection rates across Pakistan, due to the use of unsanitary equipment and rampant malpractice -- often at the hands of quack doctors.

SAM gala highlights Social Behavior Change as cost effective way for reducing diseases As of March 2019, SAM has operated in 1500 villages and covered 3 million people in 1100 villages.

by Shobana Muratee UGAR LAND – Save A Mother (SAM) Houston Chapter held its annual gala on Sunday, May 5th at the Sugar Land Marriot, City Walk to raise funds in aid of curbing India’s maternal mortality and infant mortality rate among the poor. The gala raised about $113,000 which will fund SAMs expanding programs.

S

“Let us together put maternal health on India’s top agenda,” urged Chief Guest, Sharmila Tagore, a well-known Indian film actress and recipient of Padma Bhushan award.

Getting straight to the matter, she said, “If we want to make the next generation, which is healthy and productive, it is vital to save a mother.”

“We have delivered the promises we made,” said Dr. Shiban Ganju, who started SAM as an NGO 2008 with a mission to develop affordable healthcare solutions for the poor.

Dr. Ganju highlight the impact of the ‘Effective Social Persuasion” (ESP) Program for social behavior Continued on Page 3

Save a Mother Houston Chapter. Directors: L-R: Therese Cole-Hubbs, Dr. Shiban Ganju (Founder), Girija Patel,Poonam Tulsiani,Shalini Bhargava,Veena Kaul (President) Nat Murthy, Hema Prasad, Preity Bhagia,Sakina Ali,and Puneet Freibott (Two members not in the photograph are Veena Mathur and TynaPariani). Photo credit: Bijay Dixit.

Tech giants vow to step up fight against online extremism

Anger and fear continue to swell in the desperately poor village hit hard by the epidemic, which authorities say could be linked to either gross negligence or malicious intent by a local pediatrician.

"They are coming by the dozens," says a doctor at the makeshift clinic, beset by a lack of equipment and personnel to treat the surging number of patients.

Mukhtar Pervez waits anxiously to have her daughter tested, worrying a recent fever may be linked to the outbreak. For others, their worst fears have already become a reality.

Nisar Ahmed arrived at the clinic in a furious search for medicine after his one-year-old daughter tested positive three days earlier.

"I curse [the doctor] who has caused all these children to be infected," he says angrily.

Sunil Bharti Mittal Founder and Chairman of India's Bharti Enterprises arrives ahead of a "Tech For Good" meetup at Hotel Marigny in Paris on May 15, 2019, held to discuss good conduct for technology giants. Bertrand GUAY / AFP New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron (C-L) attend a launching ceremony for the 'Christchurch call,' an anti-violence initiative at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on May 15, 2019. (Charles Platiau/AFP) Report on Page 2

F

rench President and New Zealand's premier will host other world leaders and leading tech chiefs to launch an ambitious new initiative known as the "Christchurch call" aimed at curbing extremism online. The political meeting will run in parallel to an initiative launched by the French President called "Tech for Good" which will bring together 80 tech chiefs in Paris to find a way for new technologies to work for the common good.

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OP-ED/COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS

by Adam Plowright and Joseph Schmid

P

ARIS, France | AFP | 5/15/2019 - Major tech firms on Wednesday pledged to come up with new measures for stamping out violent extremist content on the internet, amid growing pressure from governments pushing for action in the wake of the massacres at two New Zealand mosques in March.

FRIDAY, May 17, 2019

Tech giants vow to step up fight against online extremism

Executives from Google, Twitter, Facebook and Microsoft met with the leaders of France, New Zealand and other countries in Paris to unveil the "Christchurch Call" of voluntary commitments for online platforms.

It was named for the city where a gunman killed 51 people at two New Zealand mosques two months ago while broadcasting his rampage live on Facebook via a headmounted camera.

The social networking giant has faced withering criticism since the attack, after the horrific footage was uploaded and shared millions of times despite efforts to remove it.

"The call is a roadmap to action," New Zealand Premier Jacinda Ardern said at a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.

"It commits us all to build a more humane internet which cannot be misused by terrorists for their hateful purposes," she said.

Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon later released a nine-point plan for jointly putting the Christchurch pledges in motion, in particular for addressing the threat posed by livestreaming.

They promised investments in "digital fingerprinting" to track and remove harmful pictures and videos, and easy-touse methods for users to report illicit content.

"This is leading to real action, and I think real action can play an important role in at least preventing a number of these kinds of attacks," Microsoft's president and chief legal officer Brad Smith told AFP in Paris.

"No one wants to see the internet used as the staging ground for these kinds of terrorist atrocities," he said.

Facebook had already promised Wednesday to tighten access to FaceBook Live, in particular by denying the service to users who have shared

by Douglas A. Brook

A

s new college graduates collect their degrees and launch careers this month, a surprising number of those receiving master’s degrees in public policy are no longer pursuing government jobs – especially at the federal level.

Shutdowns, pay uncertainty and government bashing are among the reasons these graduates give for avoiding such careers.

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Between 2001 and 2017, the number of these graduates going into government jobs at all levels — local, state and federal — dropped 15 percent. Of those who did choose government jobs the average percentage entering the federal government dropped from nearly 75 percent in 2001 to about 25 percent in 2017. There was a spike in choosing government work following 9/11 and the first election of Barack Obama, but the general trend points downward over this 16-year period.

These findings are based on an examination of data on initial job choices of master of public policy graduates from the top 20 programs as ranked

by U.S. News & World Report in 2018 and as reported by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration.

The data did have some limitations — for instance, not all the schools report their data for the same time periods, but something clearly is going on when it comes to public service job choices.

Why the decline? It’s not for a waning desire to work for the public good. Students of public policy score high on indicators of motivation for public service, so you would expect them to naturally lean toward jobs in government.

And yet, something holds them back. I see this reluctance first-hand here at Duke University, where I teach courses in

French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the launch of the 'Christchurch Appeal' against terrorism on the internet at the Elysee Palace in Paris, 15 May, 2019. (Reuters/Charles Platiau/Pool) extremist content.

- No US for now The largely symbolic initiative is intended to keep up the pressure on social media companies, which face growing calls from politicians across the world to prevent their platforms from becoming stages for broadcasting extremist violence.

"Our goal is to never again see the internet transformed into a crazy propaganda machine, a goal sought by both terrorists on the far right and Islamic terrorists," Macron said.

The leaders of Britain, Canada, Ireland, Senegal, Indonesia and Norway travelled to Paris as part of the initial backers of the plan.

But despite the endorsement from the biggest US tech firms, Washington will not join for now, even though "we continue to support the overall goals reflected," the White House said in a statement.

"We continue to be proactive in our efforts to counter terrorist content online while also continuing to respect freedom of expression and freedom of the press," it said.

Macron appeared to take the refusal in stride, saying "The American administration has expressed its support for our effort, which I already con-

A police officer stands guard in front of the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, March 17, 2019. (Vincent Yu/AP). sider progress."

The companies said they would cooperate on finding new tools to identify and quickly remove extremist content, such as sharing databases of violent posts or images to ensure they don't spread across multiple platforms.

They also said they would explore tweaking their algorithms to prevent violent or hateful content from going viral, while making it easier for users to report harmful posts.

But it will be up to companies to develop specific tools or policies.

- 'Can't prevent content' Many countries have already tightened legislation to introduce penalties for companies

that fail to take down offensive content once it is flagged, by either users or the authorities.

But analysts say the tighter controls pledged Wednesday will go only so far in preventing people from circumventing rules and policies already in place against disseminating violence and hate speech.

"You can't prevent content from being uploaded: it would require the resources for tracking everything put online by all internet users," said Marc Rees, editor in chief of the technology site Next INpact.

"Can you imagine trying to get TV or radio to prevent libellous, abusive or violent speech that someone might say?" he asked.

Fewer graduates are choosing government jobs public policy.

My research assistant Kyle Melatti and I recently examined more than 100 self-written biographical sketches from our incoming master of public policy students. Each of these sketches contained at least one of the common attributes of public service motivation: compassion, commitment to social justice, an attraction to policy making, civic duty, selfsacrifice, commitment to the public interest.

Many of these students had already demonstrated an inclination toward service, coming to graduate school from the military, Peace Corps, Teach for America and numerous community nonprofit organizations.

In my professional ethics class, students keep journals, which I read weekly, and many are not shy about asserting a personal moral imperative for making the world a better place. They seek intrinsic rewards and look askance at the perceived material aspira-

tions of their peers in business schools.

But in their job choices, many graduates of master of public policy programs no longer equate “public service” with “government service.” Instead, they are choosing from a diverse set of job opportunities to satisfy the urge to serve their fellow citizens.

In 2017, 34 percent of these graduates went into government; 34 percent joined private sector organizations, including public-serving private organizations like government consulting firms; 28 percent opted for nonprofit organizations; and 4 percent chose other types of employment or further schooling.

These findings, which only go through 2017, have important implications for government.

If governments are to compete for talent in the public service marketplace, the attractiveness of the work — and barriers to getting the jobs — must be addressed.

For

starters,

governments

must demonstrate the public service attributes of their work and deal with the perceptions of governments as mind-numbing bureaucracies.

Governments, particularly the federal government, need to streamline their complicated application procedures. Long lead times for selections and clearances plus uncertain and non-transparent hiring processes all conspire to make government an unattractive job choice.

Lastly, we need to address in a serious way the increasing dysfunction in Washington, D.C. After all, who wants to work for an organization that is consistently bad-mouthed?

As the numbers indicate, even those students most interested in government careers are reluctant these days to do so.

Douglas A. Brook, Ph.D., is a professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. He served as acting director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in the George H.W. Bush administration.

VOICE OF ASIA 3

Section 1

Community Email: voiceasia@aol.com

FRIDAY, May 17, 2019

Tel: 713-774-5140

SAM gala highlights Social Behavior Change as cost effective way for reducing diseases

Dr. Shiban Ganju, Founder, SAM. Photos by Bijay Dixit

Chief Guest, Sharmila Tagore

Continued from Page 1

Pradesh you can change the healthcare statistics of the world,” he said.

change that was developed by SAM. The program includes social health behavior change through intensive community mobilization, capacity building, training of village volunteers, community meetings, house calls and training of community leaders to become self-sufficient. “We stumbled on a solution that works with groups of people, local people and converts all the knowledge into five bullet points,” he said. “We conduct close to 40,000 community meetings every year,” he added. Due to the successes of the program, from its initial focus on maternal mortality reduction with behavioral change, SAM has included infant and child mortality reduction, population stabilization and tuberculosis control in its services. “In Gadag in Northern Karnataka, six years ago the maternal mortality rate was 400, in the past 3 years, in un-

der 67 villages, half a million population there’s not been a single maternal death,” Dr. Ganju reported. Operating in 1500 villages, SAM is been showing the scope of reducing MMR by 90% and neonatal mortality by 67% in under three years. SAM has replicated its earlier success of Amethi in other districts: Gadag in Karnataka, Nizamabad in Telangana and Jaunpur district in UP. “We keep our cost is simple, structure really frugal. Our cost per capita is less than 25 cents,” he explained.

“If someone gave me a $100 million, for the next five years we will be able to transform the healthcare statistics of India and therefore the world,” he said. The simple solution would be to start with Uttar Pradesh known to be the poorest, with that has 200 million people living in ‘misery’. “if you modify healthcare statistics in Uttar

Veena Kaul, President Save A Mother, Houston Chapter welcomed the gathering and spoke about SAM. At its inception in 2008 the MMR in India was 212 out of 100,000 live births according WHO MMR pew at that time. Research showed that women in villages were not benefiting from the facilities available. Educating and increasing awareness of the women was the critical, but implementation was challenging,” Kaul said. “Volunteers had to go door to door to convince women and their family members to send them to the training sessions. Besides reducing MMR by 90% and neo-natal mortality by 67% SAM has helped increase deliveries in the hospitals by 99%, The results encouraged SAM to use the model to tackle other health issues like

Veena Kaul, President Save A Mother, Houston Chapter

tuberculosis control and population stabilization. Since then immunization against tetanus increased to 90%, Contraceptive acceptance has increased from 10% to 61%.

In 2019 SAM started a new program to reduce mortality among children under 5 years in urban slums of Varanasi city. Dr. Ganju has moved to India after 45 years of medical practice in Chicago to work on this program she informed. SAMs yearly budget for carrying out its programs is about $100,000 Kaul informed.

The event program had a lively entertainment session with Indian American comedian Anish Shah who has performed over 30 countries and singer Ritika Saligram, a senior at the Village School.

She has been studying music since the age of eight and training in classical Italian opera. Dinner was catered by Aligs while appetizers were provided by Bombay Brasserie. The elegant decor was by Decor One The NGO, run by a professional staff, is data driven. It has a transparent accounting system and a demonstrable record of achievement of goals.

SAM employs approximately 80 people and also works a

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field force of over 27,000 volunteers. SAM works in close cooperation with government public health programs.

To get more information about the wonderful things that SAM does, please visit https://saveamother.org/

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VOICE OF ASIA 4

FRIDAY, May 17, 2019

Non-stop laughter at Hasya Kavi Sammelan

H

OUSTON – This year’s Hasya Kavi Sammelan was once again what the organizers had promised – a non-stop laughter for nearly three hours.

mashri from the government of India after Kaka Hathrasi, the master of the genre.

Mahendra Ajnabi retorted to jibes made by Dr. Dubey over his receding hairline and made equally humorous comments about Dr. Dubey. His poems and jokes maintained a fine line between humor and satire for which he is well known. He has several published works and has received many awards for his works.

Organized by the International Hindi Association, Houston Chapter, and the India Culture Center, Houston, three visiting Indian poets regaled Hindi lovers who packed the hall to the capacity at India House on April 28.

The guests were welcomed

Poet (kavi) Mahendra Ajanbi is seen rendering his poem. Seated are poets Padamshri Surendra Dube ji and Ms. Shabina Adib.

Houston Chapter of International Hindi Association felicitated Shri Sanjay Sohoni in recognition of his dedicated volunteering work for the past many years.

by ICC President Nisha Mirani and ICC Director Dr. KD Upadhyaya who forewarned the audience before the poets opened the floodgates of laughter by their satire, humor and jokes.

The three poets – Padmashri Dr. Surendra Dubey from Raipur, Shabina Adeeb from Kanpur, and Mahendra Ajnabi from

Delhi – are well-known Indian poets who are currently visiting the United States. Houston was the ninth stop in their whirlwind tour which will take them to 19 cities over a period of 33 days. The local chapters of International Hindi Association coordinate the tour of these poets.

The program began by recitation of Sarawati Vandana by Shabeena Adeeb, an Urdu poet who has taken part in many kavi sammelan in India. Her melodious voice and recitation of geet and ghazal provided a unique backdrop to the kavi sammelan and highlighted the common origins of Hindia and Urdu. Described as the two

The poets commended the

to expand but is not able to find people to teach Hindi. He urged the Indian community members, who know Hindi, to volunteer for teaching the language to younger generation.

Sanjay Sohoni, IHA Secretary and ICC Trustee, was felicitated at the kavi sammelan for his continuous voluntary service to the cause of Hindi since 2009..

Brijgopal Pallod, who is visiting Houston from India, was impressed by the work done by

Housefull: A section of the audiece. More than 325 people attended the event at India House. sisters, Hindi and Urdu together are the third most spoken language in the world.

After Saraswati Vandana, Dr. Surendra Dubey took the audience on a rollercoaster ride of jokes and satire ranging from politics to lifestyle. Dr. Dubey, who has authored five books, is the second satirist and humorist poet to have received a Pad-

organizing for their work in spread of Hindi in the United States, especially among younger generations and said that they were impressed by the high number of youths attending the kavi sammelan in some of the cities they visited.

Dr. Upadhyaya said that IHA runs four classes to teach Hindi and the organization wanted

IHA to spread India’s national language as well as the enthusiasm of Houstonians attending the kavi sammelan. He said he was especially impressed by the recitation of Saraswati Vandana by an Urdu poet.

The event was sponsored by Discount Power and refreshments were catered by Madras Pavilion.

Marshall High School earns fourth track state title in five years FBISD students pick up several individual awards

FORT BEND ISD (May 13, 2019) – Marshall High School’s track team continued its dynasty as the state champion in the 2019 UIL Track & Field State Meet, held this past weekend at The University of Texas at Austin.

The team earned first place overall in the 5A Boys competition, after earning 1st place in all three relay events – the 4x100, the 4x200 and the 4x400. Several students also picked up individual medals,

India House Houston

including 1st place wins for Devon Achane in the 200 and Matthias Petterway in the 300 hurdles. Another Buff, Bryson Stubblefield, earned 3rd place in the 100.

The 4x200 relay team – Bryson Stubblefield, Korey King, Dalevon Campbell and Devon Achane – set a new 5A record of 1:23.38.

The Lady Buffs earned 2nd place overall at the 5A Girls competition, earning 1st place

in the 4x400 relay and 2nd place in the 4x200 relay. Cesley Williams picked up 2nd place in the 400.

The Hightower Lady Canes tied 7th overall in the 5A competition, and the Bush Lady Broncos made it to 4th overall in the 6A competition, after earning 3rd place in the 4x200 relay. BHS student Laila Owens picked up a 1st place in the 200 and THS student Victoria Mathiew earned 3rd place in the 300 hurdles.

Members of the Marshall High School track team

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Self-made millionaire: This is the No. 1 way to get rich—and most young people are not doing it

Ramit Sethi

by Ramit Sethi

W

hy do so many of us have such poor attitudes toward money? There are a few convincing cases you can make: Not enough education, too much information, confusing messages from the media or simply a lack of interest.

Whatever the reason, it’s clear that young people aren’t doing the single most effective thing that will make them rich: Investing in the stock market.

According to a recent Gallup poll, only 37% of young Americans ages 35 and under said they owned stocks between 2017 and 2018, compared to the 61% of people over the age of 35 did own stocks.

Opening an investment account gives you access to the biggest money-making vehicle in the history of the world — and you don’t have to be rich to do it. Many account providers will waive minimums (the amount required to open an account) if you set up an automatic monthly transfer.

Invest now — you’re not getting any younger What if you had started investing $10 per week five years ago? Assuming an average return of 8%, you’d have thousands of dollars today— all from investing a little more than $1

per day. Think about that $10 a week.

Where did it go, anyway? If you’re like most, you probably spent it on Uber rides and Frappuccinos.

over the long term (i.e., real estate, stocks, cryptocurrency and commodities). I know I should invest, but stocks don’t ‘feel’ comfortable. “

Despite wild rides in the stock market, the best thing you can do is to think long-term and start investing early: If you invest $10 per week: After one year, you’ll have $541; after five years, you’ll have $3,173; after 10 years, you’ll have $7,836.

What it means: The great irony is that you believe “control” will help your investment returns. In reality, you’d actually get better returns by doing less. The less control you have, the better. The average investor buys high, sells low and trades frequently (which incurs taxes). All of this cuts your returns by huge amounts.

If you invest $30 per week: After one year, you’ll have $1,082; after five years, you’ll have $6,347; after 10 years, you’ll have $15,672.

Invisible script: “Due to my lack of knowledge and experience in the stock market, I don’t wish to lose my hardearned money.“

If you invest $50 per week: After one year, you’ll have $2,705; after five years, you’ll have $15,867; after 10 years, you’ll have $39,181.

What it means: Ironically, every day that you don’t invest, you’re actually losing money due to inflation. You’ll never realize this until you’re in your 70s, at which point it’ll be too late.

If you’re in your 20s or early 30s, there’s still time to set aggressive investment goals. The first step is to understand what your excuses (or what I call “invisible scripts”) really mean.

Invisible script: “There are so many stocks out there, so many ways to buy and sell stocks, and so many people giving different advice. It feels overwhelming.“ What it means: This is code for: “I want to hide behind complexity.” Any new topic is overwhelming (i.e., diets, workout regimens or parenting). The answer isn’t to avoid it — it’s to pick a source of information and start learning.

Invisible script: “I don’t want to be the person who buys into the market when it peaks.“ What it means: You already know you can’t time the market, but you just don’t understand it. You can make this problem disappear by automatically investing each month.

Invisible script: “I haven’t invested in anything because there are so many different options to put my money in

FRIDAY, May 17, 2019

Invisible script: “Fees are a big part of it. I only have a small amount to invest, so trading fees can make a big dent in my returns.“ What it means: It’s totally mystifying how people think “investing = trading stocks.” Oh wait, no it isn’t — every dumb commercial and app pushes this agenda. When you follow my advice, your fees can be really low.

Invisible script: “I ordered a small coffee instead of a large, so I’m actually saving X dollars a day. Am I adulting?“ What it means: Not really.

Ramit Sethi, author of the New York Times best-seller ”I Will Teach You To Be Rich, ” has become a financial guru to millions of readers in their 20s, 30s and 40s. He became a self-made millionaire at a young age thanks to his website (which he started as a Stanford undergraduate in 2004), book and personal finance courses.

SOURCE: CNBC/Make It, May 15 2019.

Tel: 713-774-5140

Tech giants vow to double number of women managers by 2022

Technology giants have pledged to reach 30pc female managers in three years.

(Photo: Getty Images Europe)

P

ARIS AFP

| |

5/15/2019 Forty-five tech giants committed Wednesday to doubling the number of women on their management boards to 30 percent by 2022, the French presidency said.

High-profile global companies including IBM pledged to boost the

Alibaba, BNP number of female executives from 15 percent to 30 percent Paribas, Booking.com, IBM, L'Oreal and The "Tech for good" summit aims to Uber were some of the high-profile encourage global tech leaders to think companies to sign a pledge at the secabout how new technologies can conond "Tech for good" summit taking tribute to the common good, in areas place in Paris. such as education and health.

Businesses that reach the goal are then to pursue complete parity including on executive committees, the Elysee palace said in a statement.

A recent tech-sector study by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company showed that women occupied just 15 percent of management posts at present, it added.

The initiative is the brainchild of French President Emmanuel Macron who was scheduled to dine with 180 leaders of digital companies including Jack Ma of Alibaba, and Ken Hu of Huawei on Wednesday evening.

He was also due to individual meetings with IBM boss Virginia Rometty and Dara Khosrowshahi of Uber.

COMMUNITY

VOICE OF ASIA 6

40th Union Christian Fellowship annual Convention a success

Rev. Abraham Varghese (inauguration)

FRIDAY, May 17, 2019

Ravi Goel takes charge as Hindu Worship Society President

Dr. George Cherian. (main speaker)

HWS Board members: L to R: Ravi Goel, Nisha Bhatia, Ashima Patel and Promod Bhanwal. Ranjan Lashkari is not present in the picture.

by Manu Shah

T

he Hindu Worship Society (HWS) has the distinction of being the second oldest Hindu temple in Houston.

The priest participants were a blessing to all attendees.

by Saji Pullad

H

OUSTON: Union Christian Fellowship's 40th annual 3-day Convention recently at St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India, Houston. It was well noted for the active participation of many believers and it was universally acclaimed as a great success.

Rev. Abraham Varghese of Immanuel Marthoma Church, inaugurated the event and Rev. K. B. Kuruvilla of Evangelical Church presided over these meetings.

The main speaker this year was Dr. George Cherian, Gen-

eral Secretary and founding member of Missions India. Dr. Cherian once again reminded the need to the faithful that Jesus is the only answer to all our problems and His love should be the most sought after in our lives.

It was a very powerful series of messages on the Gospel.

Opening prayer was conducted by Rev. Jacob George.

Mathai K. Mathai welcomed all to these meetings and P. I. Varghese proposed vote of thanks. Koshy Abraham, Alice Matthew, Georgekutty were the main intercessory prayer leaders.

Also in active attendance were Rev. A. V. Thomas, Rev. Abraham Thottathil, Rev. Dr. Roy varghese, Rev. Saji Albin, Rev. William Abraham, Rev. Fr. Joseph Mathew and their presence itself was a blessing to all.

Another highlight of the meeting was a special song written and tuned for this occasion by Saji Pullad and the songs were rendered by an excellent choir led by. Reji Varghese. This 40th annual meetings concluded with a new hope and the revival for all those who participated and it was in indeed blessing.

The temple’s prestige suffered a brief setback due to differences among its board members but in 2015, the Society was taken over by a new management team. Bal Sareen, well-known philanthropist and highly respected Houstonian was elected President and he devoted a great deal of his time, resources and efforts in restoring the temple’s stature. He recently stepped down and Ravi Goel, an active member has been elected President for 2019 – 2021. Other Board members include Ashima Patel – Secretary, Nisha Bhatia – Treasurer, website manager and Children Events Coordinator, Ranjan Lashkari – Temple events Coordinator and Promod Bhanwal – Facility Maintenance. The three trustees are Sandeep Soni, Dr. Durga Agrawal and Bal Sareen.

In the last few years, the temple has been drawing a number of devotees who come to practice their faith and spirituality.

The temple is dedicated to Lord Ram, Laxman and Sita, Lord Krishna and Radha and Maa Durga. Resident temple priest Pandit Shree Bhawani

Shankar Shastri is well versed in Vedic Literature such as the Upanishads, Bhaagvat Purana, Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta and Valmiki Ramayana. He performs the daily pujas and rituals according to traditional Vedic conventions and holds discourses every Sunday on the teachings of the Gita and its modern applications as well as other scriptures. He also performs weddings and other significant rites of passage in a Hindu’s life such as naming ceremonies, death rites, the shraadh ceremony (prayers for our ancestors) and even car pujas.

A feature of the temple is its free Sunday Prasad or lunch usually hosted by a member of the congregation for a celebration or in memory of a relative.

As Ravi steps into his new role as President, his future plans include reviving the Hindi classes, inviting speakers in English to offer discourses and celebrating the main festivals of Holi, Diwali, Shivaratri and Dashehra in a grander fashion.

An engineer from Amritsar, Punjab, Ravi came to the US in 1973 to pursue his higher studies. In 1986, he turned entrepreneur and started Hardy Machine and Design, Inc., which manufactures parts for the oil field industry. He is also

a founder member of Hindus of Greater Houston and recalls the early years when he would collect the props and other material after the Janmastami celebrations ended at midnight and take them back to his office where he would store it until the following year.

Growing up in a “conservative Hindu family,” Ravi was accustomed to going to the temple and performing pujas from an early age and he continued this practice when he came to the US. According to him, being a good Hindu means serving the family, community and your adopted country, love for the poor and needy and respect for the environment. He believes that praying to the deities is “a means of concentrating your mind and body on the Supreme Being.”

HWS’s new President and his wife Aruna, who is equally involved with the temple activities, also pray at other temples like BAPS, the Sri Meenakshi Temple, Arya Samaj and Chinmaya Mission. As he philosophically puts it “everyone worships in their own style but the goal is the same.”

The temple is located at 2223 Wirtcrest Lane, Houston Texas 77055. For more information, contact HWS.Temple@gmail. com or call 713-957-4608.

6565 West Loop South, Suite 850, Bellaire, TX 77401 6565 West Loop South, Suite 850, Bellaire, TX 77401

COMMUNITY

VOICE OF ASIA 7

Ganga to Kaveri - Connecting rivers through Dance

In Loving Memory of Harshad Patel

Harshad Patel December 29, 1947-May 8, 2019

O

n Wednesday May 8, 2019, Harshad “Master” Patel lost his battle with cancer and went peacefully surrounded by his loving family. He was diagnosed with a primary brain tumor (Glioblastoma multiform) in August 2018.

He fought a tough fight and was treated at MD Anderson these last 10 months. Harshad was born in Ahmedabad, India in small area called Moti-hamam ni pole. In 1969, he came to America as an immigrant not only to benefit his life but the life of his family. He grad-

Trump bars US companies...

seen as prompted by already deep concerns over an alleged spying threat from Huawei.

Continued from Page 6

adversaries," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

A senior White House official insisted that no particular country or company was targeted in the "company- and countryagnostic" declaration.

However, the measure -- announced just as a US-China trade war deepens -- is widely

US officials have been trying to persuade allies not to allow China a role in building next-generation 5G mobile networks, warning that doing so would result in restrictions on sharing of information with the United States.

US government agencies are already banned from buying equipment from Huawei, a rapidly expanding leader in the 5G technology.

FRIDAY, May 17, 2019

A Samskriti Presentation at Match Houston, Sunday, May 19

uated from Texas Southern University with a Masters in Business Administration.

His passion for community service started while being a member of the Indian Students Association. He was in charge of bringing students together for monthly Bollywood movies. Shortly after, he was involved with Gujurati Samaj of Houston from inception in 1979 and was a founding member. He helped construct many of the by-laws and the constitution for which it continues to use to this day. Harshad also volunteered his services to India Cultural Center and various religious organizations. He was a board member and held many offices throughout the last 40 years.

A leader for the Gujarati and Indian community, he will be missed by us all and we will always be thankful for his commitment and service towards the Houston southasian community. A funeral was held on Sunday May 12, 2019 at 1:00 pm at Winford Funeral Home. Harshad “Master” Patel is survived by his wife Rashmi Patel, daughters Rupal and Dharti, Son-in laws Punit and Viray, and grandkids Seyva and Raahi.

China's government is furious.

"For some time, the United States has abused its national power to deliberately discredit and suppress by any means specific Chinese enterprises, which is neither honorable nor fair," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

"We urge the US side to stop the unreasonable suppression of Chinese enterprises on the pretext of national security and to provide a fair and non-discriminatory environment," the

D

ecades ago Union Minister for Power & Irrigation Dr. K. L. Rao had floated the idea of linking the rivers in India, to eliminate drought and irrigate parched areas of the coun-try.

That never happened. But Churchill Pandian, creator and Artistic Director of Utsav Music, Chennai, has done it, through dance. Bringing together four forms of classical dance - Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Odissi and Kuchipudi Mr. Pandian has enlisted the help of the brilliant composer Praveen Rao of Bangalore to bring to life the sacred riv-ers Ganga (presented by Astha Dixit in Kathak), Yamuna (with Bhavana Reddy in Kuchipudi), Odissi (Aparupa Chatterjee and her students spokesman said.

Earlier, David Wang, executive director of Huawei's board, shrugged off news of the upcoming emergency declaration.

"Our business in the US is not very big. We are a company with global operations, so if there is this or that change in any country, the impact on our global business is very little," he said.

- Trojan horse claims The US portrayal of Huawei as a national security danger

performing in Odissi), Narmada (by Nitya Narasimhan in Bharatanatyam) and Kaveri (also in Bharatanatyam, by Venu-gopal Josyula, Presidential Scholar Isha Parupudi, Jvalanti Prasad, Keerthana Varma and Ananya Gokhale). This harmonious melding of dance forms and rivers should be an inspiration to restart the ‘linking rivers project’, and a harbinger of good things to come.

The idea of linking rivers may have existed before, but certainly the use of dif-ferent classical dance forms as the medium for expressing this artistically, is indeed both new and unique.

Churchill Pandian, ever the creative thinker, mover and doer, can be credited with giving the ‘confluence of the rivers’ an

Ganga to Kaveri: Connecting Rivers through Dance, is being presented exclusively, only in Houston, by Samskriti, at MATCH, 3400 Main St, Houston, TX 770002, on Sun-day, May 19, at 4 PM. Tickets are available on line at www.matchouston.org and more information is available at www.samskritihouston.org or (832) 275-9658. We are on Face Book too!

This program has been funded in part by grants from the Texas Com-mission on the Arts and the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, and through the generosity of the Bhagavatula Foundation, Enbridge Corporation and Exxon Mobil.

dovetails with Washington's wider complaint that Chinese companies are unfairly protected by the state, making fair trade impossible.

leverage its ultra-rapid telecoms technology into a Chinese government spy network reaching deep into American society and business fields.

On an even broader scale, the United States and some European allies fear that Chinese economic expansion, particularly in the Belt and Road global infrastructure program, is part of a bid for geopolitical dominance.

"Chinese telecom companies like Huawei effectively serve as an intelligence-gathering arm of the Chinese Communist Party," Senator Tom Cotton, from Trump's Republican party, said after Trump's emergency declaration.

Amid those worries, Huawei is portrayed as an especially potent Trojan horse that could

"The administration is right to restrict the use of their products."

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REMEMBERS US.

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aesthetic value and ap-peal.

US/ASIA

VOICE OF ASIA 8

China's arsenal in the trade war against the United States

B

EIJING, China | AFP | Tuesday 5/14/2019 - Beijing's latest retaliation against US tariff hikes -- an increase on $60 billion of US imports from June 1 -could leave China running low on ammunition in the trade war.

D

ALLAS | AFP | Wednesday 5/15/2019 - Texas police investigating child sexual abuse on Wednesday raided offices of the Catholic diocese in Dallas, after alleging that church officials had not been fully cooperative.

China imports almost four times less than it exports to the United States, and Beijing already levies punitive charges on almost all US goods arriving in China -- $110 billion out of an annual total of $120 billion.

So if Beijing does up its tariffs to as high as 25 percent on a range of US products, including liquefied natural gas, chemicals, fruit, vegetables and seafood, it may limit its room for manoeuvre.

Here AFP looks at some of China's options: - Tariff tussling? "Tariffs are a self-inflicted wound. You are raising the import costs of your own producers," said Robert Lawrence, professor of trade and investment at Harvard University.

However, in the middle of a trade war "economic considerations are secondary", he said, because "it is much more about posturing, bargaining and politics".

"Can China be seen to be passively accepting these measures from the United States?"

Cars and auto parts from the US face the prospect of a 25 percent hike in duties.

Announced by Beijing in December, the measure was suspended at the beginning of the year but can be easily reactivated.

The sector, crucial for the US economy, also represents an important electoral base for Donald Trump.

- Devalue the yuan? Trump regularly accuses the Chinese central bank of lowering its currency rate to support exporting firms, but is it an option?

Rajiv Biswas, Asia Pacific chief economist for IHS Markit, says no.

"It is not a realistic strategy for China to try to mitigate a 25 percent tariff by allowing further declines in the yuan," he told AFP. "A key priority for the Chinese government since 2015 has been to stabilise the exchange rate and prevent large capital outflows, in order to protect its foreign exchange reserves.

"Therefore the Chinese government is unlikely to want any potentially destabilising decline in the yuan, which could trigger renewed large capital outflows."

- Penalise businesses? China could make life difficult for US companies in the country in the form of regulatory requirements or customs blockages.

These measures "will get a lot of support in China, but will further undermine business confidence" abroad, said Jake Parker from the US-China Business Council.

If Beijing went for that option, that would constitute an

Trump bars US companies from foreign telecoms posing security risk

by Sebastian Smith

W

ASHINGTON | AFP | Wednesday 5/15/2019 - President Donald Trump declared a national emergency Wednesday barring US companies from using foreign telecoms equipment deemed a security risk -- a move that appeared aimed at Chinese giant Huawei.

The order signed by Trump prohibits purchase or use of equipment from companies that pose "an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons."

"This administration will do what it takes to keep America safe and prosperous and to protect America from foreign Continued on Page 8

Texas police raid Catholic offices in sexual abuse probe

Police served search warrants at the headquarters of the diocese, a storage location and offices of a local church.

Image: Istock

"escalation", according to Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE).

would also penalise the millions of Chinese employed by American companies and their local partners.

"If you do that, then you run the risk that the Trump administration decides to do a 'ZTE'," referring to when Washington last year banned all sales of electronic components to the Chinese telecoms giant, jeopardising its very existence.

China is key to Boeing, to whom it sells a quarter of its planes.

The White House accused the firm of violating embargoes against Iran and North Korea.

Donald Trump finally agreed to reconsider the decision.

- Call for a boycott? The Chinese could be encouraged not to buy American flagship products, such as the iPhone.

Amid frosty relations with Japan in 2012 or South Korea in 2017, boycott campaigns led to a 50 percent collapse in sales for both countries' car brands in one month.

However, such a measure

- Snub Boeing? -

The editor of the nationalist newspaper Global Times -- controlled by the Chinese government -- pondered the possibility that the country would reduce its Boeing orders, although the US aircraft manufacturer said it was "confident".

At the end of March, Beijing nevertheless finalised a firm order for 300 aircraft from European giant Airbus when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited France.

- Sell the debt? China is the largest holder of US debt (about $1.2 trillion), but selling a big part of it would be risky because any destabilisation of the markets could undermine the value of Treasury bonds held by Beijing.

The raids were connected to the investigation of a fugitive priest named Edmundo Paredes and at least five new allegations of abuse against other suspects, police said.

"These investigations stem from additional allegations made after the case against Mr. Paredes became public," Major Max Geron of the Dallas police said.

Paredes is charged with sexual abuse of a child and accused of molesting at least three other minors. He disappeared from the suburban Dallas church where he served for decades and is believed to have fled to his native Philippines.

The Dallas diocese said the raids did not involve any suspects who had not been publicly disclosed on a list of 31 predator priests going back to the 1950s.

The diocese released the list in January.

"The diocese has been cooperating with the ongoing investigation of these priests," Dallas Bishop Edward Burns told reporters.

A judge approved the warrants after police alleged that church officials had not been fully cooperative.

FRIDAY, May 17, 2019

US indicts Chinese hackers over giant 2015 data breach

W

ASHINGTON | AFP | Thursday 5/9/2019 - AThe US Justice Department announced Thursday the indictment of members of "an extremely sophisticated" Chinese hacking group that allegedly stole the personal information of more than 78 million people from health insurer Anthem in 2015.

The Justice Department did not say that the group had any connections to the government, and did not say how the stolen data were used.

The department said the group was behind a campaign that targeted the computer systems of four distinct US industry groups, slowly and stealthily removing corporate secrets and personal data.

The hackers used phishing emails to trick company employees into opening a path for them to enter the systems.

"The allegations in the indictment unsealed today outline the activities of a brazen Chinabased computer hacking group that committed one of the worst data breaches in history," said Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski.

The announcement came during heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over trade and over China's alleged program to steal American corporate secrets in order to quicken China's own technological development.

The indictment named one member of the hacking group, Wang Fujie, 32, and said other members were also charged in the indictment, including some whose real identities were not known.

It said that besides the Anthem hack, the group was able to enter the systems of three other unnamed businesses, including one in the technology sector, another in basic industrial materials, and one in communications.

They would then install malware and other tools on the systems to maintain backdoor access and avoid being discovered so they could explore for valuable data.

From health insurer Anthem they reaped the personal identification data on 78.8 million individuals, everything from addresses and identification numbers to their employment and income data.

"The defendants sometimes patiently waited months before taking further action, eventually engaging in reconnaissance by searching the network for data of interest," the Justice Department said.

Wang and the unnamed defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, wire fraud, and intentionally damaging protected computers.

SOUTH ASIA

VOICE OF ASIA 9

FRIDAY, May 17, 2019

Kolkata clashes spark Indian election row

Cheerleaders challenge India's strictly cricket tradition

by Sailandra Sal

K

OLKATA, India | AFP | 05/15/2019 - Clashes between followers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a firebrand opposition leader heightened tensions in the key Indian city of Kolkata on Wednesday ahead of the final round of the country's hard-fought national election.

More than 100 people were arrested after street battles on Tuesday that forced Amit Shah, president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to leave an election rally in the eastern capital of West Bengal state under armed guard, police said.

The Election Commission on Wednesday ordered an end to campaigning at 10 pm on Thursday, a day early, in West Bengal for Sunday's final election round.

The new cheerleaders often have no idea of the rules of Twenty20 cricket -- but they quickly pick up when to cheer for their favourite Indian players (AFP Photo/Xavier Galiana)

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EW DELHI | AFP | Friday 5/9/2019 They smile and jump in short skirts and tight tops in front of frenzied crowds -- but this is cricket, not a Bollywood set or a Mumbai nightclub.

They may not know the rules of Twenty20 cricket, but the cheerleaders who follow the eight Indian Premier League (IPL) teams have become a key part of the success of the world's wealthiest cricket tournament that will stage a new final on Sunday.

Traditionally, when a batsman hits a six into the crowd, he lifts his bat to acknowledge the applause. But when Delhi Capitals star batsman Rishabh Pant bashes a ball into the stand, he unleashes an explosion of music, smoke and flying pom-poms.

The dancers -- who come from Britain, Brazil, Canada, Russia, South Africa and other countries -- keep grinning and kicking even when temperatures hit 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

Separately, a grenade attack in the city of Guwahati in the north-eastern state of Assam

In happy Bhutan, the PM is a doc on Saturdays

T

HIMPHU, Bhutan | AFP - It's Saturday in Bhutan and Lotay Tshering has just completed urinary bladder repair surgery on a patient at the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital.

"Some people play golf,

injured 12 people, officials said. A local separatist group, the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), claimed responsibility.

Calcutta students placards Narendra BJP".

In Tuesday's disturbances in Kolkata, a bust of a renowned Bengal reformer, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, was destroyed and a college named after him ransacked, which the BJP and rival Trinamool Congress (TMC) angrily blamed on each other.

Modi's BJP has campaigned hard in West Bengal, hoping to capture many of the state's 42 parliament seats from the TMC to compensate for losses predicted in other regions.

Teachers and students of Vidyasagar college wearing black badges staged a day-long protest Wednesday, demanding an impartial investigation.

But Tshering is no ordinary doctor. During the week, he also happens to be prime minister in the Himalayan kingdom famous for measuring citizens' Gross National Happiness.

"For me it's a de-stresser," said Tshering, who was elected prime minister of the nation of 750,000 people last year in only its third democratic election since the end of absolute monarchy in 2008.

The 2019 Lok Sabha polls have been marked by unabated violence in the state of Bengal, with both the Mamata Banerjee-led ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party blaming each other for the clashes. Things came to a head on Tuesday during Amit Shah’s rally in Kolkata with either side releasing videos to ‘prove’ who was responsible for the violence.

"I could not recognize the office when I stepped in today," Gautam Kundu, the college principal, told AFP. "Broken shards of glass lay all over and a statue of Vidyasagar was missing from the glass case.

On Saturdays he works as a doctor in Bhutan, but during the week Lotay Tshering happens to be prime minister of the Himalayan kingdom. AFP. some do archery, and I like to operate. I am just spending my

weekends here," the 50-yearold told AFP.

"They (the teachers) were cowering in fear inside the classrooms when the attack took place. We are shocked," he said.

Security was stepped up outside the college as well as at

University, where demonstrated with reading "Go Back Modi", "Go Back

The BJP accused West Bengal's chief minister Mamata Banerjee of orchestrating attacks on Shah's roadshow.

Government ministers joined a protest in Delhi which blamed Banerjee's party.

West Bengal state has been hit by repeated violence between the two parties during the six-week-long election that ends Sunday with results due on May 23.

As in previous elections, there has been also sporadic violence elsewhere.

On May 1, Maoist rebels fighting a decades-old insurgency against the Indian state killed 15 Indian troops and their driver in the western state of Maharashtra.

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VOICE OF ASIA 11

Fort Bend View

FRIDAY, May 17, 2019

Sugar Land, Katy, Stafford, Missouri City, Richmond, Rosenberg and Meadows Place

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Flood debris pickup in Fort Bend ‘God still loves them’: Rapper brings message of hope to FB prison County scheduled for May 20 Residents are asked to separate their flood debris by category: vegetative debris, construction and demolition debris, appliance and white goods debris, electronic debris and household/hazardous waste debris.

T

he Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management says the first of three rounds of flood debris pickup will take place on May 20.

Residents are asked to separate their flood debris by category: vegetative debris, construction and demolition debris, appliance and white goods debris, electronic debris and household/ hazardous waste debris. - KHOU

96 people federally charged in U.S. marriage fraud scheme that circumvented immigration laws

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ICHMOND/HOUSTON — A federal grand jury has handed down a 206-count indictment in a large-scale marriage fraud scheme, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Homeland Security Investigations Houston, ICE, Fort Bend County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services investigated the case in which 96 people have been federally charged.

The indictment was handed down April 30.

A suspected criminal organization created sham marriages to illegally obtain admission and grant status for illegal immigrants in the United States, ICE announced.

The indictment says Ashley Yen Nguyen, known as Duyen, 53, of Houston, headed the Southwest Houston-based organization and had associates operating throughout Texas and the Republic of Vietnam.

“Marriage fraud is a serious crime,” said District Director Tony Bryson, USCIS Houston. “This indictment reveals how successful our working relationships are with our law enforcement and intelligence partners when it comes to investigating marriage fraud. USCIS remains steadfast in our commitment to ensuring national security, public safety and the integrity of the immigration system.”

People involved were entering into the sham marriages to circumvent U.S. immigration laws.

“The indictment alleges the marriages involved in this conspiracy were shams because the spouses did not live together and did not intend to do so, contrary to the official documents and statements they submitted to USCIS. The spouses only met briefly, usually immediately before they obtained their marriage license, or not at all.”

The indictment says: • Duyen received $50,000 to $70,000 from people marrying a U.S. citizen • Agreements were allegedly prorated, with the suspects paying an additional amount for each immigration benefit they received (admission to the country, resident status) “Duyen and others allegedly recruited other U.S. citizens to act as petitioners in the sham marriages who received a portion of the proceeds received from the beneficiary spouses.

Several individuals who were recruited as petitioners soon afterwards

became recruiters themselves. Others were also allegedly in charge of receiving the proceeds from the beneficiary spouses and disbursing the payments to the petitioners,” the U.S. ICE announcement says.

From the news release: Attorney Trang Le Nguyen, aka Nguyen Le Thien Trang, 45, of Pearland was also indicted for obstructing and impeding the due administration of justice and tampering with a witness, victim or informant. According to the indictment, Nguyen allegedly prepared paperwork associated with at least one of the fraudulent marriages and told a witness who provided information to law enforcement to go into hiding, to not engage in any air travel that may alert federal law enforcement to her presence, and to not provide any further information to law enforcement.

These criminal charges include: 47 counts of marriage fraud, 50 counts of mail fraud; 51 counts of immigration fraud; 51 counts of false statements under oath in a matter relating to registry of aliens; and one count each of conspiracy to engage in marriage fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, conspiracy to commit immigration fraud, conspiracy to make false statements under oath in a matter relating to registry of aliens, unlawful procurement of naturalization, obstructing and impeding the due administration of justice, and tampering with a witness, victim or informant.

Conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud and tampering with a witness, victim or informant all carry possible 20-year federal prison sentences. If convicted of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud or marriage fraud, those charged face up to five years in prison. The remaining charges all have maximum possible 10-year-terms of federal imprisonment.

“The following agencies participated in last week’s operation to arrest the indicted individuals: HSI Houston, USCIS Houston, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Harris County (Texas) Constable’s Office Precinct 5, Houston Police Department, Harris County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office and Texas Department of Public Safety.”

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Laurence Goldman, Michael Day and Kate Suh, Southern District of Texas, are prosecuting this case.

- Scripps Media

by Will Maule

A

ward-winning Christian rapper Lecrae is used to playing sold-out arena shows. But he took a gig in a rather unusual venue last month — Carol S. Vance Unit prison in Fort Bend County.

Heading inside the facility with fellow musicians Andy Mineo and Tedashii, Lecrae met with inmates to hear stories of how many of them had come to Christ, and tried to offer some hope and wisdom of his own.

The acclaimed artist visited in partnership with Prison Fellowship, a ministry organization that works with “talented people in entertainment and restorative programs to bring awareness to the 2.2 million people behind bars in America today.”

Making his way through the heavily fortified security gates Lecrae said he loves to “connect with people that society has forgotten.”

“It’s a community that I feel connected to,” he explained. “These are people that need love and need encouragement, that the world kind of forgets about.”

“God still loves them,” Lecrae added, “so do I.” But alongisde the joking around and playing basketball, the rapper didn’t hold back with speaking some wisdom into the lives of a couple of inmates who were soon to be released.

Speaking to one over lunch, Lecrae said very firmly, “you’ve got to find a solid church community.” Previously, the rapper has said that a number of prominent musicians have sought him out to be their spiritual mentor.

Later on in the visit, Lecrae and his group, “116 Clique,” listened to some

Image source: YouTube/Lecrae

freestyle rap performed by inmates at the prison before laying down some bars of their own.

“I came to H-town. For the Lord Jesus, boy I gotta put it down,” Lecrae declared. “Came on the scene reppin’ Jesus Christ, you know I gotta bring the 116.”

“A lot of the time people when people commit shameful acts, we throw them away,” Lecrae explained. “God never does that. We do it, but God never does.”

He added: “If God threw away people who committed shameful acts, David wouldn’t be here, Moses wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be here!”

Lecrae has had his own run-ins with the law, talking openly about his wild teenage years growing up in Houston, Texas.

“My uncles were young and wrapped up in the streets, gangs and drugs and just promiscuous,” he told CBN in a previous interview. “I idolized it. I wanted to be the gang member. I wanted every tattoo that [my uncle] had. I saw my first gun and all these different things. I was like, ‘This

must be what it means to be a man.’”

Eventually, Lecrae found himself taking drugs and getting involved in the gang culture. But it only when he was sitting in the back of a cop car having been arrested on a drug possession charge that he felt God speak to him in a powerful way — all through the kind actions of a police officer.

“The police officer goes to the back of my car, and he saw the Bible,” Lecrae recalled. “He came back to the police car and said, ‘Son, you’ve got a Bible in your car. Do you know what that Bible is about?’ I was like, ‘I need to.’ He said, ‘Today, I’m going to let you go, ‘cause I want you to get into that Bible and I want you to start living it.’ That really did something to me. I didn’t want to get into any kind of trouble like that again.”

From that point forward, the talented musician started to allow the Holy Spirit to work in his heart, and, as they say, the rest is history.

Lecrae is now married with three kids, has released nine studio albums and is the proud winner of two Grammy’s and some seven Dove Awards.

- Faithwire

Missouri City branch library hosting official re-opening ceremony

T

he Grand Re-opening ceremony of Fort Bend County Libraries’ Missouri City Branch Library will take place on Saturday, June 1, beginning at 10:00 am, at the newly renovated library, located at 1530 Texas Pkwy.

The ceremony will be officiated by Fort Bend County Precinct 2 Commissioner Grady Prestage, who will be joined by other county and local officials. All area residents are invited to come out and take part in the grand reopening reception on Texas Parkway (FM 2234), next to the Missouri City Civic Center and City Hall.

Fort Bend County’s Missouri City Branch Library originally opened on June 1, 1992, with 18,462-square feet.

In the 2015 bond election, voters approved funding for the renovation and expansion of the existing building. A three-story, 9,600-square-foot addition was included to provide more space for meetings, study, and computers.

“The area served by the Missouri City Branch Library has grown and changed considerably since the library was originally built,” Library Director Clara Russell said in a news release.

With a new total of 28,062 square feet, the Missouri City Branch Library is now the fifth-largest library in the Fort Bend County library system, which includes 11 libraries and management of the Fort Bend County Law Library.

Designed by Merriman Holt Powell

Image: Merriman Holt Powell Architects of Houston

Architects of Houston, the building blends the best of traditional library services with a wide range of electronic resources. The library is equipped with the latest in computer and telecommunications technology, including WiFi and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) capabilities.

The library will also have self-check machines so that library patrons can check out their own materials, facilitating quick and efficient library service. The library also includes community meeting rooms, study rooms, a puppet theater, and a computer lab for technology classes and general public use. Additional computers will be available for public use outside of the computer lab.

There is also a special-event space on the top floor of the addition, which will be available for public use as well as library events.

“When the library was first built, it was designed to meet the needs of the community at that time. No one could have imagined how much the digital age would change all of our lives,” Russell said in a news release.

“Use of electronic resources – such as computers, the Internet, WiFi, and circulation of digital e-books and audiobooks – have all shown increases, so the additional space will definitely help us meet those needs of our library patrons.”

- Fort Bend County Library System

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Cinema is not about wonderful, perfect people: Shahid

Shahid Kapoor gestures as he poses for photographs during the trailer launch of the upcoming Hindi film ‘Kabir Singh’ in Mumbai on May 13. (AFP photo)

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UMBAI, India, Press Trust of India - Actor Shahid Kapoor on Monday said his film “Kabir Singh” portrays a flawed man with all honesty and if the audience only wants to watch nice characters, cinema won’t go far.

“Kabir Singh” is the remake of the Telugu hit “Arjun Reddy”, directed

by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, who has also helmed the Hindi version. While the film became a rage quickly after its release in 2017, it was criticised for glorifying toxic masculinity and for using anger as a tool to justify the titular character’s abuse of women and people around him. When asked if the criticism played on his mind before he started with the Hindi film, the director told reporters, “Anger is a very special quality. There is nothing wrong in using anger as a tool. It can be used in any way an individual wants. I don’t think the opinion of critics, what they mentioned during

the Telugu film (was) playing in the back of my mind.” Responding to the criticism, Shahid said sometimes “we are very hypocritical about how we tend to look at cinema made in India.”

“We then watch things made internationally and praise them for the fact that they are so honest, straight and not trying to be politically correct all the time. Cinema is meant to showcase different people. It’s not about wonderful, perfect people. I think we all are imperfect in our own ways. We all have grey areas within ourselves, we go through good and bad phases,” he said. The actor, who was speaking at the trailer launch of the film, said everyone has been angry, hurt and negative at some point. “To me, watching a film like ‘Kabir Singh’ will help understand that when you allow yourself to be affected by those things, it can take you on the path of destruction. It can warn you from going in that route.

New Woody Allen movie to open in France in September

“For people who might’ve been there, it can be therapeutic. Cinema acts as a medicine. If you see something you relate to, it helps you have the catharsis of sorts.” The “Padmaavat” star said for him, “Kabir Singh” is a cathartic film.

“It makes you honestly go through that journey of a man, without trying to sugar coat it, because then that’s being manipulative. Sandeep has made an honest film and people should watch it knowing that.

“If people only want to come and see people going ‘hey hey ha ha’ then cinema won’t go far. We need to be able to make real films.”

When asked about the treatment of aggression in the original and if the makers avoided it in the remake, Shahid said the interpretation of films with evolving times cannot “always show the right thing.”

“I did ‘Jab We Met’.

Who was the aggressive character in the film? I played the submissive character. In ‘Padmaavat’, I was playing a much quieter character and now I’ve done ‘Kabir Singh’ where I am playing an aggressive character.”

When prodded further about how his character is territorial towards women, Shahid said in college there are alpha males, men who feel they have a sense of territorial ownership over a certain place.

Woody Allen’s latest film “A Rainy Day in New York” will be released in France in September, despite being put on ice in the US over decades-old sex abuse allegations against the director. (AFP/File photo)

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ANNES, France | AFP | Tuesday 5/14/2019 - Woody Allen’s latest film, which has been put on ice in the US over decades-old sex abuse allegations against the director, will be released in France this year, a distributor said Tuesday.

“A Rainy Day in New York” starring Timothee Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Selena Gomez and Jude Law will hit French cinemas on September 18, Mars Films said ahead of the opening of the Cannes film festival.

“The 50th feature film by Woody Allen... is a romantic comedy set in present-day New York City,” the company’s CEO Stephane Celerier said on Twitter.

In February, Allen filed a $68 million (60 million euros) suit against Amazon for breach of contract, accusing the streaming giant of cancelling the film because of a “baseless” accusation that he sexually abused his daughter.

Allen has said Amazon sought to terminate the deal in June 2018, and has since refused to pay him $9 million in financing for “A Rainy Day in New York”.

The film has been completed but not released.

Earlier this month, Variety magazine reported it would be released in Italy in October.

The movie was one of several to be produced with the Oscar-winning director under a series of agreements

reached after Allen made the “Crisis in Six Scenes” programme for Amazon.

Allen has been accused of molesting Dylan Farrow, his adopted daughter, when she was seven years old in the early 1990s.

He was cleared of the charges, first levelled by his then-partner Mia Farrow, after two separate months-long investigations, and has steadfastly denied the abuse. But Dylan, now an adult, maintains she was molested.

Her brother Ronan Farrow revived the allegations on the day the Cannes film festival opened in 2016 with Allen’s “Cafe Society”, lashing out at the media for failing to ask hard questions about the director.

Amazon’s relationship with Allen began with “Cafe Society” (2016), to which the studio had purchased the rights, before producing and distributing “Wonder Wheel” (2017), then committing to four additional films.

“There are other men who aren’t so aggressive in their behaviour. Some films depict that kind of characters, this film depicts this kind of character.”

However, when asked specifically if he justifies the acts of his character, the actor said, “You see the film and see what happens to him. Tommy Singh (in ‘Udta Punjab’) does much worse things than ‘Kabir Singh.’

If I start justifying characters, I can’t be an actor.”

“Kabir Singh”, also featuring Kiara Advani, is slated to release on June 21.

OF

PRO

LOK SABHA ELECTIONS 2019: Hema Malini (L), Bollywood actress and ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s Rajya Sabha MP campaigns for Meenakshi Lekhi, party’s candidate for New Delhi constituency ahead of Phase VI of India’s general election at Mubarakpur Kotla, New Delhi on May 09, 2019. (Photo: Tarun Rawat / The Times of India)

Canadian passport sparks controversy for Akshay Kumar

A

years.

s a Bollywood super-star, Akshay Kumar has had one patriotic role after another in recent

He’s played Indian military men, a sports star and even an advocate for the current government’s hygiene campaign – in a film called Toilet: A Love Story.

The growth of Kumar’s India-first persona has conveniently paralleled the 2014 election of Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with its Hindu nationalist overtones.

The actor’s ties to the party were cemented last month when he conducted a televised, softball interview with Modi himself, the prime minister being in the thick of a hard-fought election campaign.

But then an inconvenient fact challenged the star’s nationalist credentials: under pressure, Kumar admitted that he had traded in his Indian citizenship for a Canadian passport.

In fact, he owns a mansion in Oakville, Ont., once said “Toronto is my home,” and in 2011 campaigned for Canada’s own prime minister at the time, Stephen Harper.

“What’s most embarrassing is he’s involved in urging (Indian) people to go to the polls, and he doesn’t have voting rights,” said Narendra Subramanian, a McGill University political scientist.

As well as adding a dose of Canada to the world’s largest exercise in democracy, the curious controversy underscores the potent identity politics unbottled under Modi’s regime.

He was elected partly on promises to curb India’s pervasive corruption and modernize its economy. But Modi’s BJP has been blamed for also stoking sectarian fervor among India’s Hindu majority, with results that include the lynching of several Muslims for slaughtering cows.

Kumar is sometimes called the Brad Pitt of Bollywood, a 50-something star who was one of two Indian actors on Forbe’s list of the world’s wealthiest celebrities in 2018, reportedly earning $40 million.

Indian Prime Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narendra Modi arrives to file his election nomination papers in Varanasi on April 26, 2019. Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images/File As a Hindi-speaking hunk of sorts, he fits well with the BJP’s messaging, which includes both Hindu nationalism and a muscular Indian patriotism, says Chinnaiah Jangam, a Carleton University history professor.

“Akshay Kumar represents that sort of high-caste, Hindu male power,” said Jangam.

Said Subramanian: “He is very proBJP, very much sold on that line and pushes for a kind of militaristic Indian nationalism connected to Hindu identity.”

As part of its election campaign, the party produced a biopic that extolled Modi’s virtues and launched a TV channel devoted to the party. Both were nixed by India’s election commission as campaign ads in disguise.

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Cannes rediscovers its glitz as stars flood red carpet The 72nd Cannes Film Festival has one of the glitziest line-ups in years as Hollywood stars and studios return (AFP Photo/Alberto Pizzoli)

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annes kicks off Tuesday with one of the glitziest line-ups in years as Hollywood stars and studios return in numbers to the world’s biggest film festival.

der stolen in recent years by Venice, which some US studios now using the Italian festival as their Oscars launchpad, this time Cannes is putting its much smaller rival in its place.

The opening movie alone -- “The Dead Don’t Die” -- has a small army of stars led by Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Chloe Sevigny, Danny Glover, Tilda Swinton and Steve Buscemi.

Quentin Tarantino brings auteur heft and star power to the party with the premiere of his epic “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”, a quarter of a century after he lifted the Palme d’Or for “Pulp Fiction”.

The cast of the tongue-in-cheek zombie flick by arthouse favourite Jim Jarmusch also takes in music legends Iggy Pop as one of the undead as well as Tom Waits, singer Selena Gomez and rapper and Wu-Tang Clan guru RZA. Having had its Tinseltown thun-

The panorama of Charles Mansonera Los Angeles stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a television Westerns star and Brad Pitt as his stunt double with Margot Robbie playing actress Sharon Tate, who was murdered by the cult leader’s followers.

Hollywood icon Doris Day dead at 97 Cannes festival 2019: films in competition (AFP Graphic/Photos: Sophie Ramis) - ‘Rambo V’ and ‘Rocketman’ Almost as big a coup was persuading Elton John to launch his wartsand-all musical biopic “Rocketman” on the Croisette out of competition, with festival director Thierry Fremaux hinting that the singer will perform on his grand piano at the premiere.

US actress Doris Day, a major film star known for her wholesome girl-next-door appeal, has died at the age of 97.

by Laurent Banguet

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OS ANGELES | AFP - Doris Day, the US screen icon famed for her wholesome, girl-next-door appeal in a string of box office hits, died Monday at age 97, her foundation said.

The Doris Day Animal Foundation said the actress and animal rights activist died at her Carmel Valley, California home, after a short illness.

“Day had been in excellent physical health for her age, until recently contracting a serious case of pneumonia, resulting in her death,” the foundation said in a statement.

“She was surrounded by a few close friends as she passed.”

During much of her career, Day reigned as Hollywood’s top female box office attraction, a darling of an adoring public who snapped up tickets to see her in musicals, comedies, suspense thrillers and westerns.

The perky blonde star, whose career spanned nearly 40 movies from 1948 through 1968, excelled in one particular film genre of the day -- the “bedroom farce” -- typified by the 1959 hit film “Pillow Talk,” with Cary Grant, Rock Hudson, and James Garner.

“Her 39 films – many still incredibly popular and shown frequently today -stand as a testament to her talent,” her foundation said.

- Tumultuous personal life Even without her accomplishments as an actress, Doris Day would have been celebrated as a chart-topping vocalist.

Her first hit, “Sentimental Journey,” remained among her biggest, along with her signature mega-hit -- the classic song “Que Sera Sera” -- which she introduced to the world in the 1956 film “The Man Who Knew Too Much.”

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences led an outpouring of affection and sadness from Hollywood, hailing Day’s “humor, extraordinary talent and kind heart.”

Director Carl Reiner (“The Man With Two Brains”) recalled how he had been in touch with the singer a week ago to welcome her “to the 97 Year Actor’s Club.”

Paul McCartney, who visited her home in California, described her as a true star and “very funny lady” with a heart of gold.

“I will miss her but will always remember her twinkling smile and infectious laugh as well as the many great songs and movies she gave us,” he wrote in a blog post.

The actress’s sunny personality belied a tumultuous personal life.

Of German parentage, the actress was born Mary Ann Von Kappelhoff in Cincinnati, Ohio on April 3, 1922.

Her parents divorced when she was 13, leaving her to be raised by a pushy stage mother. After a near-fatal car crash that ended her hopes for a career as a dancer, she made the switch to singing.

The screening on Thursday is the first big blockbuster event at the festival, where Sylvester Stallone will also unveil a teaser for “Rambo V: Last Blood”.

Another headline-grabber will be the stir that soccer legend Diego Maradona is sure to create when he turns up for a documentary on his rollercoaster career by the maker of the Oscar-winning “Amy”.

The festival has stirred controversy itself by giving a prize to veteran French star Alain Delon, with the Women and Hollywood lobby group saying honouring a man who has admitting to hitting women “sucks”.

Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, who heads the jury who will pick the Palme d’Or winner, also struck a political note Tuesday by

condemning populist leaders like US President Donald Trump, but without naming names.

“The world is melting and these guys are ruling with rage and anger and lies and making people believe that they are facts,” he told reporters.

“This (is a) dangerous thing we are returning to, to 1939,” he added, referring to World War II. “We know how this story ends if we keep with this rhetoric.”

Analysts, meanwhile, were upbeat about this year’s offerings.

- The Oscars? Who cares? “That Cannes has managed to get ‘Rocketman’ is a very big coup because Paramount was historically one of the studios who were the most reluctant to show films at the festival,” said Christian Jungen, author of the book “Hollywood in Cannes”.

Studios have often been reluctant to risk their big-budget productions, fearful of a savaging from critics.

They have not forgotten the pasting that the “Da Vinci Code” and last year’s “Star Wars” spin-off “Solo” took.

Cannes got “Rocketman” thanks to Fremaux’s friendship with Paramount boss Jim Gianopulos, Jungen said, who was head of Fox when it took “Moulin Rouge” to the Croisette in 2001.

It’s precious breathing space for the festival, which is stuck in a stand-off with Netflix over the streaming giant’s refusal to release its films in French cinemas.

Yet Netflix has far from turned its back on Cannes.

Jerome Paillard, the head of the festival’s vast market, where deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars are done, said it has sent a team of around 25 buyers and executives.

That is even bigger than it was last year, he told AFP. “More than ever the whole world comes to Cannes, particularly the Americans. They are still the biggest group overall, and their numbers remain stable,” Paillard added.

The festival, which calls itself the “Olympics of film”, is “about world cinema”, he said, and giving a platform to new voices and auteurs.

‘Avengers’ still tops in N.America but ‘Pikachu’ shows spark

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OS ANGELES | AFP | Monday 5/13/2019 - “Avengers: Endgame” led the North American box office for a third week running, but the cuddly creatures of a new “Pokemon” movie gave the superheroes a run for its money, final figures showed Monday.

The mega-blockbuster from Marvel Studios, a Disney subsidiary, took in $63.3 million for the three-day weekend, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations reported.

That brought its domestic total to a whopping $723.7 million.

With a global tally now nearing $2.5 billion, “Avengers” appears to be on track to pass “Avatar” ($2.79 billion) as the all-time top grossing film.

Positive reviews have helped, as has an all-star cast including Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Bradley Cooper and Josh Brolin.

“Pokemon: Detective Pikachu” took in a healthy $54.4 million for the weekend’s second spot.

Based on a Nintendo video game series and subsequent anime series, the Warner Bros. film tells the story of how the fuzzy animated title character (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) teams up with a young boy (a live-action role played by Justice Smith) to seek the boy’s missing father.

Third place went to another new film, “The Hustle” from United Artists, at $13 million.

The “Avengers” core team (from L-R): Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige, actors Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo. (AFP Photo/VALERIE MACON) The female-driven revamp of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” starring Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway playing

two women trying to scam an internet millionaire earned less than glowing reviews, but that may have been offset by its popular stars.

Sony’s psychological thriller “The Intruder” dropped two spots from last week to fourth place with a $7.2 million take.

Young Life

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71% of young people are ineligible for the military — and most careers, too

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AKARTA, Indonesia | AFP | Monday 5/13/2019 - An Indonesian teenager pulled off a stunning upset Monday by defeating two-time surfing world champion Gabriel Medina in Bali.

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ORK, Pa. — The numbers are staggering: Seventy-one percent of young people are ineligible to join the military, according to 2017 Pentagon data.

The reasons: obesity, no high school diploma, or a criminal record.

Granted a wildcard spot to compete in the World Surf League (WSL) event at Keramas beach on Bali’s east coast, 19-year-old Rio Waida quickly proved why he is considered Indonesia’s next big hope on the international stage.

The problem isn’t just a military one, though: It’s an issue for businesses as well because the vast majority of that age group isn’t eligible for many jobs either, said retired Rear Admiral Thomas Wilson.

Waida scored a low combined two-wave score of 9.60 out of 20, but that was still enough to edge out 2018 world champ Medina and Deivid Silva -- both from Brazil -- in clean head-high waves.

That’s why Wilson recently raised the issue at a gathering of business and community leaders in Pennsylvania’s York County. The 29 percent of 17to 24-year-olds who are qualified become prime targets for all recruiting: military, college and jobs.

“I’m very happy I won in the first round, especially because I was competing against Gabby Medina, the world champion,” Waida said in a post-heat interview.

Wilson, a former Naval officer in Pennsylvania, calls it “a war for the qualified.” Steve Doster, Pennsylvania State director of Military Readiness for Council for a Strong America, agrees it’s a problem.

Major Jin Kim (here in a family snapshot) works as a Pharmacy Director of Operations at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

(Photo provided)

“This is a very real risk to our national security,” Doster said.

education for decades. York Day Nursery was a test site more than 10 years ago for Pre-K Counts, an education program for toddlers who will enter kindergarten the following year.

- The solution could start in childhood Brian Grimm has been fighting to improve the numbers for many years as executive director of the York Day Nursery.

They’re promoting a common message: Young people need preparation early in their lives to be productive members of society later.

The school has been invited to join a state-funded program for infants that prepares babies for the classroom as well.

“They know if they fund the infant program, that can get (the children) to the Pre-K Counts program, which will get them ready for school, which will prepare them for life,” Grimm said.

Pre-K Counts isn’t day care: It’s a curriculum-centered program that preps toddlers for

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The Balinese surfer followed that up with a 3.93, which was enough to see him advance to round three where he will compete against the winner of a round-two elimination heat.

Some five decades after surfing was first introduced to Bali by foreign visitors, Waida is from a new generation of Indo-

nesian surfers that are stamping their mark on the international scene.

The Corona Bali Pro is the third stop on the 11-event men’s world tour and follows competitions on the Gold Coast and at Bells Beach in Australia.

John John Florence, a twotime world champ from Hawaii, currently has the tour ratings lead and advanced on the first day of the competition along with event favourites Italo Ferreira, Filipe Toledo and Jordy Smith.

ground among scattered tires behind a fake police cordon labelled “climate crime scene”.

“For me Volkswagen represents the immoral greed of capitalism,” 18-year-old Clara Marisa Mayer, an activist for the “Fridays for Future” climate movement in Germany, told AFP. Environmentalists have also recently spectacularly dumped barrels of dead bees at the annual shareholder meeting of German agrochemicals giant Bayer; glued themselves to the London Stock Exchange; and staged sit-ins in front of oil giant Total’s headquarters in La Defense business district of Paris.

- Pressing urgency For Gabriel Mazzolini of the French arm of Friends of the Earth, who took part in the April 19 blockade of energy companies at La Defense, politely seeking dialogue and commissioning expert reports were “no longer effective ways forward, given the pressing urgency of the situation.”

“Mass acts of civil disobedience allow people to get involved in non-violent protests that sometimes breach the limits of legality,” he said.

Dominique Bourg, who heads of the list of France’s Urgence Ecologie in the upcoming European parliamentary elections, says that “traditional Green parties don’t always incorporate the different strands of protest. But such protests are going to increase in number.”

Several marches are planned to be held across the world this weekend against Monsanto and other agri-business giants.

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19-year-old Rio Waida quickly proved why he is considered Indonesia’s next big hope. (Photo: Facebook/Rio Waida)

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“The waves were small, but I know the break here so I could implement my strategy.

On his best scoring ride, Waida -- who finished third in

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Grimm and the nursery have advocated for early childhood

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Indonesian teen defeats world surfing champ Medina in Bali

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Trump throws support behind fix for surprise medical bills, but hurdles remain

by Julie Rovner

P

resident Trump called on Republicans and Democrats to pass legislation this year to end surprise medical bills, in remarks made in the White House’s Roosevelt Room Thursday.

“We’re determined to end surprise medical billing for American patients,” Trump said.

Bills like those have been featured in the NPR-Kaiser Health News series launched in February 2018.

Austin, Texas, teacher Drew Calver talked about the six-figure bill he received after having a heart attack. “I felt like I was exploited at the most vulnerable time in my life,” he said.

A bipartisan group of senators has been working to come up with a plan for the past several months. The lawmakers said Thursday they hope to have a bill to the president by July.

But will bipartisanship be enough?

Even political will might not overcome divisions within the health industry.

Specifically, lawmakers aim to address the often-exorbitant amounts patients are asked to pay out of pocket when they receive care at health facilities that are part of their insurance network but are treated by out-ofnetwork practitioners. Legislators are also looking to address bills for emergency care at a facility that doesn’t have a contract with patients’ insurers.

“We’re getting really close to an

approach that we’ll be able to unveil pretty soon,” Sen. Maggie Hassan, DN.H., told reporters on a conference call Thursday with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. And it’s not just politicians and patients: Out-of-network doctors, insurance companies and hospital groups say they want the problem for consumers fixed, too.

Despite that broad agreement, a hurdle remains. Insurers and health care providers each oppose the other side’s preferred solution to end surprise bills.

That conflict makes it almost impossible for lawmakers to come up with a fix that won’t leave one of the influential groups unhappy.

“It’s a different axis than the partisan [conflicts] we’re used to,” said Loren Adler, who has been studying the surprise-bill problem for the USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy. The fight over how to fix it is less likely “to break down between Republicans and Democrats and more likely to break down to where the money is” and which group will have to take less of it.

“I don’t see a coalescence around a solution,” said Chip Kahn, president and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals, which represents forprofit facilities.

The divide is wide, despite the overall interest in protecting consumers.

“What we’d most like to see is clarity for the patients,” said Bob Kneeley, a senior vice president for Envision

Healthcare, which employs physicians to staff a variety of hospital departments, such as emergency rooms, neonatal units and anesthesiology.

“This is a system that’s just not working well for the patient, and we need to establish some appropriate guardrails.”

“We want this to be solved. We know it needs federal legislation,” agreed Molly Smith, a vice president at the American Hospital Association.

She said hospitals believe that patients should “not have to be involved in any process if there’s a dispute between the payer and the provider.”

States have been working on the problem for several years. Nine now have programs aimed at protecting patients from surprise bills. But state laws cannot reach those with employer-provided insurance — more than half of all Americans —because those plans are regulated by a federal law called the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. That means only Congress can fix it for everyone.

Patients and groups that represent them say the problem is more urgent than ever. “We are talking about situations in which families, despite enrolling in health insurance, paying premiums, doing their homework and trying to work within the system are being left with completely unanticipated and sometimes financially devastating bills,” Frederick Isasi, executive director of Families USA, told a House education and labor subcommittee hearing in April. - NPR

First case of monkeypox virus detected in Singapore

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INGAPORE, Singapore | AFP | Friday 5/10/2019 - Singapore has reported its first ever case of monkeypox, brought in by a Nigerian man thought to have contracted the rare virus by eating bushmeat at a wedding.

Symptoms in humans of monkeypox -- which is endemic in parts of Central and Western Africa -- include lesions, fever, muscle ache and chills.

Transmission is usually via close contact with infected animals such as rodents and monkeys and is limited between people. It has only been fatal in rare cases.

The man who brought in the virus arrived in Singapore on April 28, the citystate’s health ministry (MOH) said in a statement late Thursday.

The 38-year-old developed symptoms two days later and is currently isolated at an infectious disease centre in a stable condition, the ministry said.

At least 23 individuals who had been in close contact with the man had been traced, and those who are in Singapore will be quarantined and monitored for 21 days as a precaution, MOH said.

One had already left Singapore on May 5 before the Nigerian was diagnosed at hospital but has since made contact with the city’s health authorities and has reported he is well.

“The risk of community spread of monkeypox in Singapore is low,” said

Monkeypox is usually transmitted by infected animals. Human-to-human transmission is less common. (PHOTO: CDC/Brian W.j. Mahy) Leo Yee Sin, executive director of Singapore’s National Centre for Infectious Diseases.

He said that on average “each infected person transmits the infection to less than one other person”, which makes the virus less infectious than the common flu.

Outside Africa, human monkeypox infections had only been previously reported in the United States, Britain and Israel, according to the US Centers For

Disease Control and Prevention.

Singapore, a tiny but affluent city-state dependent on external trade and tourism, has toughened measures against infectious diseases after it was hit hard by the 2003 SARS virus outbreak.

The disease killed 33 people in Singapore, inflicted major losses on the economy and hit the number of international visitors.

What is Medicare Advantage?

• President Bill Clinton signed Medicare+Choice into law in 1997.

• The name changed to Medicare Advantage in 2003, under president Bush administration.

• Advantage plans automatically cover essential Part A and Part B benefits, except hospice services.

• Under contract with Medicare, Insurance companies offer six different ways to Medicare Advantage plans.

• Medicare Advantage plan benefits and fees may vary from county to county.

• If you live in the designated service area of the specific Medicare Advantage plan, and already have Part A and Part B, you may join the plan.

• You can switch back to Original Medicare during the annual open enrollment period

S

ince 2006, Medicare enrollees have had the option of going beyond their Original Medicare coverage by enrolling in Medicare Advantage. As of 2018, there were nearly 20 million Americans enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, accounting for about 33 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries.

Medicare Advantage benefits With Medicare Advantage plans, the essential Medicare Part A and Part B benefits – except hospice services – are automatically covered. (If you need hospice services, that’s covered under Original Medicare, even if you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan.)

Advantage plans also cover urgent and emergency care services, and in many cases, the private plans cover vision, hearing, health and wellness programs and dental coverage. As of 2019, Medicare Advantage plans are allowed to cover a broader range of extra benefits, including things like home health aides, medical transportation, and the installation of in-home safety devices.

Insurance companies offer six different approaches to Medicare Advantage plans, although not all of them are available in all areas: an HMO (health maintenance organization), a PPO (preferred provider organization), an HMOPOS (HMO Point of Service), a PFFS (Private Fee-For-Service), an MSA (medical savings account), or an SNP (special needs plan).

You need to choose your own primary care doctor with an SNP, HMO, or HMOPOS, but not with an MSA, a PPO or a PFFS. HMOs and SNPs are the only plans that require a referral prior to seeing a specialist, and the HMO plan is the only plan in which you must receive care from doctors in that network.

In most instances, prescription drug coverage is included in Medicare Advantage plans, with the exception of the MSA plan. If you want to have prescription drug coverage and you’re choosing an HMO or PPO Medicare Advantage plan, it’s important to select a plan that includes prescription coverage (most of them do), because you can’t purchase stand-

Sudhir Mathuria HEALTHLIFE 360 713-771-2900 alone Medicare Part D (drug coverage) if you have an HMO or PPO Advantage plan. SNPs are required to cover prescriptions. PFFS plans sometimes cover prescriptions, but if you have one that doesn’t, you can supplement it with a Medicare Part D plan.

What do Advantage plans cost?

Most Advantage plans charge monthly premiums in addition to the Part B premium. (You have to pay the Part B premium in addition to your Advantage premium, even if you’re in a “zero premium” Advantage plan). Some PPO plans have deductibles, specially for out of network services. Almost all HMO plans do not. But all Medicare Advantage plans must limit maximum out-of-pocket (not counting prescriptions) to no more than $6,700 in 2019.

Many plans have out-of-pocket limits below this threshold however, so it’s important to consider the maximum out-of-pocket when comparing policies. The average out-of-pocket cap in 2018 was less than $5,200, which was well below the maximum amount required under federal regulations. Source: Medicare Sources To choose suitable Medicare Advantage Plan, Medicare Supplement Plan and Medicare Prescription Drug plan contact Sudhir Mathuria at 713-771-2900.

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DIET & EXERCISE

VOICE OF ASIA 16

Simple ways to add exercise into your work and home routines

by Sharon Feiereisen

A

lthough workout studios and in-home workouts are on the rise, exercising is still a challenge for many.

Finding the time and drive to work out is still a major barrier for a good chunk of men and women hoping to improve their fitness.

Luckily, there are are some simple strategies you can incorporate into your work and home routines that will help you get a workout while staying productive.

We asked trainers and nutritionists for the best ways you can work exercise into your everyday life in a seamless, cost-effective, and easy way.

Here’s their best advice: Turn to your animal as a workout buddy Walking the dog for two or three miles isn’t just for your pet’s pleasure, it’s great for you as well.

“Aim for 30 to 45 minutes, and if you want a more steady state fat burning routine, walk briskly instead of leisurely,” Phil Catudal, personal trainer and author of “Just Your Type: The Ultimate Guide to Eating and Training Right for Your Body,” told Business Insider.

To take it up a notch, jog with your dog. To take it up even higher, work in some interval training by alternating one-minute walks or slow jogs with 30 second fast sprints. The change in heart rate will help blast away fat and calories.

Take your business meetings on the treadmill Yoga instructor Lauren Zoeller suggested scheduling your meetings in the morning via phone and walk on the treadmill as you talk.

“There are several treadmills on the market that will allow you to type and chat while you work,” she said.

Related: I walk four to five miles a day on my treadmill desk, and it’s completely changed the way I work Park farther away from the front door This tip is especially great if you live, work, or socialize in areas where parking can be a challenge, as you’ll no longer find yourself wasting time looking for a spot.

“Parking far from your front door is a great way to get in your steps for the day, so grab a parking spot far away from the door,” Zoeller said.

Ideally you’ll be working your way up to at least 10,000 steps a day, which you can easily track with phone apps or fitness trackers.

Clean your home It’s no ones favorite activity, but if you think of cleaning as a workout it can make the mundane task more satisfying.

“Throw on some music and get to work on cleaning your house,” personal trainer Derek Pope told Business Insider. “You’d be surprised how many calories you burn during an hour of mopping, scrubbing, and sweeping.”

In fact, by Catudel’s estimates, an hour of cleaning can burn up to 300 calories.

Get a standing desk Inactivity can have serious consequences on health.

“Even if you exercise the recommended three to five days a week, the excessive sitting in the remainder of the day can slow down your metabolism,” Ilana Muhlstein, a dietitian and nutritionist, told Business Insider.

“Standing also burns more calories than sitting and can improve your overall energy throughout the day.”

All the more reason to consider getting a standing desk.

Use your kid as a weight

What’s in a name? For meat alternatives, quite a lot

Babies and even big kids can serve as weights for toning exercises.

“My kids love it and it’s a great way for us to bond,” Muhlstein said. “If you have a baby, you can hug him or her tight while doing squats. Do three to five sets of 15 reps and you’ll be amazed at how sore you feel the next day. If you have a bigger child, they can go on your back and you can give them a piggy-back ride or even do sets of lunges if it feels right.”

Turn your stairs into an interval workout Always opt for stairs over an elevator, when possible.

If your office has low-traffic, easily accessible stairs, set an alarm and every two or three hours spend a few minutes doing an interval workout.

It’s easy to do because it requires no equipment. You might want to consider doing this in your socks, however, depending on what shoes you’re wearing.

Here’s how to do it: Sprint up one flight of stairs as fast as you can and then walk down to catch your breath.

Repeat this five times — you’ll be surprised at how fast this gets your heart rate up. If you want to intensify this even further, after doing those intervals, Catudal suggests jumping up a few steps at a time with both legs and then jumping back down and squatting 10 times for a total of three sets.

Skip the car Try biking or walking to work depending on how close you live to your workplace.

“Not only is this a way to keep you active throughout the day, but you’re also participating in an eco-friendly practice,” Koya Webb, health coach and author of “Let Your Fears Make You Fierce,” told Business Insider.

“Sometimes being active doesn’t only have to benefit you; it can benefit the environment as well.”

Fake meat: don’t go bacon my heart, say butchers

by Yann Schreiber

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And Desbois, who placed second in a young butchers competition at the convention, feels they undermine “the essence of the profession”.

“It’s just not possible to work with synthetic meat,” he said.

Another budding elite butcher from Switzerland, 20-year-old Selina Niederberger, agreed.

Plant-based protein products are increasingly trying to muscle in on the meat market.

But some young butchers suspect their growing popularity will inevitably have a transformative effect on their trade.

“It’s just shifting with the world and working with it rather than against it,” said 19-year-old British butcher Lennon Callister.

Trade skills are “what sets butchers apart from supermarkets,” he argued, but accepted consumers are starting to look at food differently.

Non “real” meat products have been making headlines lately, backed by investors with an appetite for supplying plant-based burgers and sausages to the trendy diet-conscious masses.

“It makes you think about how you can use meat and how you can change it, how you can use more vegetables,” she said.

- Ethical concerns Whether meat substitutes will ever be able to 100 percent replicate the taste, colour, smell and texture of a freshly chopped up slaughtered animal is debatable.

And the taste is another matter altogether.

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One thing is certain: the battle over what to call the emerging alternatives to meat, whether made from plant or animal cells, is far from settled.

“Maybe the next generation” will be the ones pressed to apply their knives and creativity to the task, Haagsma said.

Vegetables used to be considered a side dish, at best, for carnivore connoisseurs.

But in increasingly health conscious societies, where governments warn about the dangers of consuming too much red meat, plant-based products are widening in appeal.

Alongside ethical concerns over animals bred for the dinner table and green advocates urging the public to eat less meat to save the environment, the scope for more no-meat products

US cattle breeders are taking steps to avoid the same fate as milk producers, who have faced the rise of vegetarian non-dairy products based on items such as almonds or coconuts that are still labeled as “milk.”

For animal cell-based products, “there is really no consensus,” said Matt Ball, spokesman of the Good Food Institute, which promotes meat analogues.

The US Cattlemen’s Association insists that “meat” is a word that should only be used for flesh from an animal conventionally born, raised and slaughtered, though “harvested” is its preferred term.

When it was unveiled in 2013, the first Petri dish burger made headlines under the name “Frankenburger,” and the words “lab meat,” “artificial meat” or “cultured meat” were used.

“USCA prefers to use the phrase ‘foods produced using cell-cultured technology’ or ‘alternative protein’ when referring to plant-based products,” said spokeswoman Lia Biondo.

Later, it was called “clean meat,” only to be traded for the more recent term “cell-based meat.”

“We welcome the competition in the meat aisle, so long as the playing rules are equal for both sides.”

In its search for the best word to whet the appetite of consumers, the Good Food Institute published a 37page study in September on perceptions about the various names.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has yet to take a position on animal cell-based products since their exact composition is unknown.

In the United States, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be in charge of labeling these new products when they reach the market -- as early as 2021, according to the most advanced startups.

The cell-based meat being produced today is more of a “pile of muscle fiber” that is still a far cry from sirloin steak, roasted chicken or pork chops, he said.

The consistency of conventional

Josja Haagsma from the Netherlands, who won the young butchers competition, agreed that synthetic meats were changing opinions.

Backed by Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the firm and its competitors aim to turn plant-based foods mainstream and capture a huge potential market.

EW YORK | AFP | Sunday 5/11/2019 - Proponents call it “slaughter-free,” or “clean” meat. For many in the traditional meat industry, it is simply “fake.”

Jean-Francois Hoquette, research scientist at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research, or INRA, said that in France, “we don’t really ask ourselves how to define this (cell-based meat) product, because it hasn’t triggered a major response.”

“As a butcher, I’m for real meat. I think a lot of people would see it the same way,” she declared.

The celebrity-backed vegan burger start-up Beyond Meat, for example, made a sizzling Wall Street debut on May 3 when it more than doubled its share price.

meat has to do with how it is aged after the animal is killed, Hoquette said.

- The law steps in -

“As a butcher, it just can’t be that we have to get into plastic!” said Paolo Desbois, an 18-year-old French butcher, referring disparagingly to the synthetic burgers, sausages and nuggets at the IFFA meat industry convention.

Derived from sources like soy, peas or beans, the synthetic products are being manufactured without using animals.

by Juliette Michel with Nicolas Gubert in Paris

“This will be necessary simply from a public health perspective, to protect people who have allergies to different types of red meat or poultry.”

Puzzlingly, for the butchers, the fake meat seems to be popular.

But increasingly plant-based protein products are trying to muscle in on the meat market.

Behold the ‘Impossible Whopper’: Burger King has rolled out the plant-based burger in its St Louis locations -- this meal is seen at a location in Richmond Heights, Missouri (AFP Photo/Michael Thomas)

“We are confident that the USDA will require accurate and descriptive labels for cell-based meat that include the type of meat it is,” Ball said.

RANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany | AFP | Sunday 5/11/2019 - Slicing through juicy cuts of pork belly alongside rarer delicacies of ox brain and sheep intestine, young butchers at a Frankfurt trade hall cast a suspicious eye towards the so-called fake meat products on display.

The concept that animals are meat -- and plants are not -- never used to challenged.

FRIDAY, May 17, 2019

“We have not taken a position on cell-cultured, in vitro, lab-grown meat, because they have yet to be vetted by the scientific community,” said the group’s senior director of government affairs Danielle Beck.

“We would not stand for non-factual terms that aren’t based on science like clean meat, because it is inherently disparaging to conventionally produced meat products, implying it’s dirty.”

Jim Dinklage, a cattle rancher in Orchard, Nebraska, said using the word “meat” for these alternatives is simply “wrong” and has a negative impact on his bottom line.

“They are using the word meat because it confuses the consumers.

That’s hurting my business,” he said.

- ‘Meat imitation’ Some lawmakers are weighing the issue.

Last year, Missouri became the first of the 50 US states to officially define meat as a food product coming from animals. Similar bills are being examined across the country.

is growing.

- ‘They aren’t sausages!’ “It’s very important that we think about it, that we consume less” but “good quality meat,” said Haagsma.

“You can use organic meat and homegrown cows, and not the cows from the big companies,” she said.

The growing numbers of people turning to plant-based meat alternatives include vegans, who shun all animal products, and flexitarians, who advocate moderate consumption of meat.

One sign of their expanding popularity? Silicon-valley company Impossible has linked up with Burger King to offer a plant-based version of its signature Whopper.

Nestle and Unilever are also aiming to cement their presence in the sector.

The move by big conglomerates into the sector has made young butchers note that changes are on the way.

“There’ll be less of this mass-produced stuff, which is also really, really bad for the climate,” said 23-year-old German Raphael Buschmann.

However, while recognising environment-conscious citizens are rethinking their diets, Buschmann predicted a limit to the industry changes.

Vegetarian sausages would not be added to his displays any time soon.

“They aren’t sausages,” he said.

“That’s just the way it is.”

www.voiceofasia.news

•

Coca-Cola spent 8 mn euros to influence research in France: report

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ARIS, France | AFP | Thursday 5/9/2019 - US beverage giant Coca-Cola paid more than eight million euros in France to health professionals and researchers in a bid to influence research, according to an investigation by French newspaper Le Monde published on Thursday.

entists who argued that having more exercise is more important to avoiding obesity than cutting calories.

The newspaper said the aim of the funds was to have research published that would divert attention away from the detrimental effect of sugary drinks on health.

It did the same for France in 2016 following pressure from the NGO Foodwatch and it is this data that has been intensely analysed by Le Monde.

Le Monde, in its front page story, said Coca-Cola paid more than “eight million euros ($9 million) to experts, various medical organisations and also sporting and event organisations.”

It said in France, as elsewhere, the financing fell under communication or sponsorship and not as authentic scientific work.

Coca-Cola has been under a similar spotlight before, after the New York Times in 2015 reported that the company gave financial backing to sci-

In the outcry that followed that report, the firm promised to improve transparency and publish on its site the names of experts and activities it finances in the United States.

Le Monde said that as in the US, the company’s financing is aimed at “making people forget the risks that come with consuming its drinks”.

In a separate report, the Journal of Public Health Policy said Coca-Cola added multiple clauses to ensuring the research it funds produces the desired result.

These include preventing results that displease the company being published by reserving the right to break contracts without giving a reason.

www.voiceofasia.news

TRAVEL & LEISURE

VOICE OF ASIA 17

FRIDAY, May 17, 2019

Qatar tops 2019 rankings for global airlines and airports

Ha Long heli: Vietnam launches chopper rides in famous bay

Q

atar seems to be getting it right when it comes to air travel. The Gulf state’s flag carrier, Qatar Airways, and Hamad International Airport in Doha, both topped the bill in the latest ranking of the world’s airlines and airports from AirHelp.

quality of its services, and its food and shops. However, Hamad shares this year’s top spot with Haneda International in Tokyo, Japan. Next in the list come Athens International Airport in Greece (third) and Afonso Pena International Airport in Curitiba, Brazil (fourth).

Qatar seems to be a leading light in the world of air travel. Doha’s Hamad International Airport earned a top score of 8.89 out of 10 in the annual ranking from the AirHelp platform, which helps passengers claim compensation for flight cancellations and delays. The airport scored particularly highly for the

In terms of airlines, the Middle East shines once again, with Qatar Airways topping the 2019 global ranking. While scoring highly on other criteria, the carrier drops points when it comes to compensation claim processing, scoring 7.8 out of 10, the lowest in the top 10.

American Airlines comes second in

this year’s list, ahead of Aeromexico in third.

At the opposite end of the scale, Kuwait performs particularly poorly in both lists, with Kuwait Airways taking 70th place out of 72 in the global airline ranking, and Kuwait International among the world’s least popular airports, in 131st place out of 132.

Note that low-cost airlines don’t score particularly highly in the global ranking, with Easyjet coming next to last ( 71st ) and Ryanair finishing 68th, behind Norwegian (67th ) and Transavia ( 65th ). -AFP

Most visitors to Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay opt for cruise views of the UNESCO heritage site but from May 10, tourists can opt for a helicopter ride to see the area’s famous karsts from the skies.

H

powerful communist neighbour to the north.

Nervous flyers beware.

Ha Long Bay is one of the country’s top draws, with as many as 500 cruise ships in the bay every day and a newly-opened airport helping to funnel visitors into the area.

A LONG BAY, Vietnam | AFP - Most visitors to Vietnam’s famed Ha Long Bay opt for cruise views of the UNESCO heritage site but from Friday tourists can hop on a helicopter to see the area’s famous karst rock formations from the skies.

A pair of five-seater helicopters soared up to 300 metres (1,000 feet) to offer passengers aerial views of the limestone towers, cruise ships and the odd houseboat dotting Ha Long’s green waters for the maiden flights on Friday.

Helicopter manufacturer Bell said the trips, which start at $125 for 12 minutes, were aimed at tapping into a growing number of tourists to Vietnam -- many from the world’s second biggest economy.

“With the Chinese economy growing, you’re seeing more tourists come here,” said David Sale, Bell’s managing director for Asia-Pacific.

The number of visitors to Vietnam grew nearly 20 percent last year, with one-third of the total coming from its

Domestic tourism is also booming among Vietnam’s fast-growing middle class with expanding appetites -and budgets -- for travel.

But the tourist boom has also prompted environmental concerns in the once-pristine bay in Quang Ninh province, also home to home to rapid industrialisation.

“We’re under pressure from the coal industry, the urbanisation process, the arrival of more tourists and the population increase,” said Le Minh Tan, deputy director of Quang Ninh’s tourism department.

He added that a waste-water management system is set to be rolled out soon to deal with sewage spewed out by cruise ships daily.

Qatar Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner business class seats (Shutterstock/Dmitry Birin)

“We’re launching many programs in the area to ensure the environment of Ha Long is green and clean.”

Test flights begin at Beijing’s new mega-airport

A plane lands in the distance as another sits on the tarmac at the new Beijing Daxing International Airport in Beijing on May 13, 2019. Chinese airlines conducted test flights on May 13 at a new mega-airport set to become one of the busiest in the world after it opens later this year. The tests at Daxing International Airport involved four wide-body planes, including an Airbus A380 super-jumbo.

(Agence France Presse/STR)

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hinese airlines conducted test flights on Monday at a new mega-airport in Beijing that is set to become one of the world’s busiest after it opens later this year.

The tests at Daxing International Airport -- which will have eight runways -- involved four wide-body planes, including an Airbus A380 super-jumbo, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Images from state broadcaster CCTV showed large planes from Air China and other Chinese regional carriers landing and taxiing on the airport’s runways.

The flights were meant to test the airport’s general support capacity, CCTV said, with further trials scheduled for August and September.

The airport is set to be operational by September 30, Xinhua

reported.

Aimed at easing the passenger load of Beijing’s other two airports, Daxing will operate at full capacity by 2025 and is expected to transport 72 million passengers annually.

China now has the world’s fastest growing aviation sector as rising prosperity fuels travel among a huge population that a generation ago struggled to afford basic necessities.

This is the trick to getting 5 extra hours at Disney World without the crowds this summer

by Carlye Wisel

W

alt Disney World is introducing Extra Extra Magic Hours, a spin-off of its Extra Magic Hours program that will provide guests of select resort hotels special access to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

All Walt Disney World resort hotels, as well as select additional hotels, will offer guests three early morning hours inside the new Star Wars land before the park opens to the general public each morning, from September 1

through November 2.

And the extra hours aren’t just for Star Wars land: Three Walt Disney World theme parks will start accepting crowds daily in the early morning hours to accommodate increased attendance when guests head to Orlando in hopes of piloting the Millennium Falcon themselves.

If you’re an early riser and are staying at one of the nearly 40 included hotels, you can get much more out of your park tickets without spending a single extra dollar. Not only can

guests with hotel reservations get up to five more hours inside Disney theme parks each day, but can take their pick of which to visit each morning, an unprecedented change giving guests more flexibility and access during their vacations.

And, given that no Fastpasses will be provided for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run when it debuts with

Galaxy’s Edge at the end of August, Extra Extra Magic Hours are the only way to enter the land with a limited crowd, giving hotel guests the only true advantage for getting on the attraction more quickly.

With Star Wars Land’s imminent

debut, and Toy Story Land and Avatar-themed lands still proving to be extremely popular, staying at a hotel that offers Extra Extra Magic Hours will help you save more money and get even more out of your Walt Disney World vacation this fall.

-Travel + Leisure

SMALL BUSINESSES

VOICE OF ASIA 18

B

FRIDAY, May 17, 2019

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STATEPOINT CROSSWORD THEME: THE 1920s

When you find some time, READ!

READ DAILY! 15 - 30 minutes of reading daily helps your brain focus better. Grab a novel!

A Community message from Voice of Asia Group

Texas

Week of May 17, 2019

23 September to 22 Oct

21 March to 20 April Fiery Mars moves into Cancer and your domestic sector for a six-week stay, which could put family issues firmly on the agenda. You might be ready to give your place a major overhaul and eager to get it shipshape. You might initiate family projects over the coming six weeks.

The sector of your chart associated with change, rebirth, deep emotion, business, and shared assets is very much in focus. And when delectable Venus, your personal planet, moves in this week, her presence could help smooth over any difficulties and prepare the way for negotiation.

21 April to 20 May The focus on your sign intensifies this week as sweet Venus, your personal planet, moves in, encouraging you to be kind to yourself. Her presence here might also be an opportunity for an image change if this would help you develop more confidence.

21 May to 20 June There’s a lot going on in your spiritual sector this week and over the coming weeks that could encourage you to look deep within. Your dreams might be particularly vivid, and you could find answers to some of life’s questions if you make a point of writing them down.

23 October to 21 Nov Your relationships could be positive, refreshing, and alluring and bring out the best in you over the coming weeks and months. With lovely Venus moving into Taurus and your relationship zone this week, it will be easier to resolve a partnership issue.

22 November to 21 Dec

You might find yourself busier than usual, yet this could be positive if it brings new opportunities your way and gives you the chance for fresh experiences. With a powerful focus on your lifestyle and wellness sector, things are set to change one step at a time.

21 June to 22 July Your social life looks more exciting than it has in some while; you’ll have many more options for romance. At the same time, convivial influences make it easier to connect with others and forge new friendships. An unexpected encounter could turn into a friendship or a budding romance.

23 July to 22 August With a powerful focus on your sector of goals and ambitions, you could be the star of the show right now and shining brightly in the spotlight. And with lovely Venus moving into this same zone this week and adding a little charm to the mix.

23 August to 22 Sept Embrace ideas that can make a difference in your life. You might also feel compelled to try activities that are a little bit different than anything you’ve experienced before.

This is all to the good, especially if you invite a friend or your partner along.

astrology.com

fiery Mars.

ACROSS

DOWN

1. Estimator’s phrase

1. Deals a death blow

5. Pharaohs’ cobras

2. Place of origin

9. Cheek ____ test

3. *Like Lindbergh’s transatlantic journey

13. Pays the bill 15. Ho-hum 16. Gallup’s inquiry 17. Plural of folium 18. Spiky seed pod 19. *Lucy’s solo in “The Threepenny Opera,” e.g.

20. *It crashed hard 23. *Insulin’s birthplace, e.g.

24. ____ the season!

25. Rolling country, pl.

27. Mark on Pinterest 28. Change a sketch 30. Tag predecessor 33. Garbed 35. Large amount often followed by “of” 38. Grammy of sports 39. Comforter stuffing feathers

22 December to 20 Jan

41. *Aimee Semple McPherson action

If you have creative skills, is a great time to showcase your work to the right people because there’s a good chance they’ll want to see more. Relationships might demand more attention due to a

42. Type of wheat 44. Collier’s work place 45. Dublin land 46. City in Syria 48. *Douglas Fairbanks did it 50. Smokeless tobacco brand

21 January to 19 Feb Home, sweet home could be a busier place than usual with a lot of activity this week. Loving Venus moves into your home zone, adding a warm and comforting touch to family affairs. If you’ve been thinking about beautifying your place, her presence can encourage you to explore vintage or arty shops

20 February to 20 Mar Ideas might seem to come from everywhere and inspire you to action. Conversations, surfing online, reading magazines and books, and being observant could bring fresh bursts of energy into your life that translate into action.

51. Fuss to Shakespeare 52. Last letter 53. *New York’s Harlem ____ 60. Et alibi 62. *1920s art style 63. Distinguishing feature 64. Do like phoenix 65. Chutzpah 66. Anatomical dividers 67. December stone 68. Purse for a formal affair 69. *____ Candies

4. Ear-related 5. Whose music is featured in “Mamma Mia!”?

6. Talk like a drunk 7. Amusement destination 8. Keen-witted 9. Epsom or Évian-les-Bains 10. It began in 1914 11. *Al Brown to Al Capone 12. Spill the beans 14. Hinduism’s divine feminine power 21. Kind of pie 22. High rocky hills 26. Turkey’s hanging neck skin 27. Baklava dough 28. *Major 1920s electronic device 29. “I Dream of Jeannie” actress 30. “For ____ a Jolly Good Fellow” 31. #5 Across, sing.

32. *Prohibition era establishment 34. Not stiff 36. Feather glue?

37. Visual system organ 40. Interprets, as in tarot cards 43. Product of lacrimation 47. Promise allegiance 49. Receipt listings 50. ____ ____ one’s ways 51. Garlic mayo 52. Goose egg 54. Like a drink in a snifter 55. *Rights and liberties org.

56. Greek god of war 57. Where a bib is tied 58. Repeat a passage from 59. JFK or ORD postings 61. Barker of Tarzan the Ape Man fame

SOLUTION: THE 1920s on Page 19

VOICE OF ASIA 19

HOME IMPROVEMENT

FRIDAY, May 17, 2019

HOME & GARDEN

Turn household headaches into easy fixes

A

s temperatures rise, it’s time to enjoy the great outdoors. But you may find the colder months took a toll on your home, yard or gear. Are there some items that seem beyond repair?

Here are a few tips and tape repairs to get you through even the toughest tasks.

1. No More Slippery Steps.

Falls are one of the leading causes of unintentional injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- Quick repair of cracked screen on your device. Image: - StatePoint tion, and if you have an older ladder with poor traction, you tioning and you back to master- door knockers or other decoracould be asking for trouble. So, ing your task. tive hardware. Forget drilling if your next project takes you to into metal, brick or siding; new heights, make sure to first instead, consider a heavy-duty 4. Secure Furniture Moves. mounting tape for a simple -apply tread tape to each ladder rung to provide extra grip and Whether you’re moving the and stylish -- solution. protection from slipping, help- extra fridge into the garage to ing to keep you from becoming store frosty beverages or relocating patio set pieces from a statistic.

7. Patches for Pools. Warm the shed, furniture moves can weather means your family cause headaches. To make it will be ready for fun in the sun 2. Get a Grip on Garden Gear. easy, skip the bungee and opt and a few laps in your backTaking care of your lawn and for Brute Force tape to keep yard pool. On the flip side, garden is no easy task, and your doors shut and secure heavy finding a pool leak can send garden tools may have the wear pieces to the dolly. you spiraling down the money and tear to prove it. Whether drain, while a hole in your you’re dealing with broken hanchild’s favorite float might 5. Fast Repair for Flimsy Flag cause the next meltdown. For dles, worn grips or torn fabrics, use a high-strength tape such Poles. If a broken flag pole is quick and easy repairs, grab as T-Rex Tape, which has the interfering with your patriotism T-Rex Waterproof Tape, which intense strength, durability and or ability to support your favor- as the name implies, offers a holding power to handle even ite sports team, simply apply a waterproof seal, even for unthe most extreme repairs with strong, all-weather tape, such derwater repairs. ease and have you back to work as T-Rex Tape for a fast and secure repair. The aggressive, in no time. double-thick adhesive sticks to For additional repair tips, rough, dirty surfaces and holds visit T-RexTape.com.

3. Simple Tech Saves. Blame strong even through intense it on multi-tasking: you dropped weather and temperatures. your device in the middle of a Repairs don’t have to be as DIY video and a cracked screen brutal as winter’s worst storm.

6. Up Your Curb Appeal. If This year, make sure to stock has left you (and your project) in despair. Can’t break away to you’re looking for an inexpen- your tool box with the stronget to a repair shop? Apply clear sive (and easy to install) boost gest tapes around. repair tape over the shattered to curb appeal, consider add- StatePoint screen to get the surface func- ing or updating house numbers,

Tips for tackling disorganized areas of your home

W

hile we all know that minimalism is “in” right now, thanks to Japanese cleaning guru Marie Kondo and her “Tidying Up” show on Netflix, decluttering your whole house can feel daunting.

STATEPOINT CROSSWORD SOLUTION

Instead, start small with these tips for tackling the areas that tend to collect the most dirt and clutter.

1. Purge your refrigerator weekly. The day prior to garbage collection, clean out your fridge of all leftovers and expired foods, and wipe down the shelves to prevent stickiness and mold from leaking containers. Pro Tip: Line refrigerator trays and drawers with a protective, dishwasher safe layer, such as Clear Classic EasyLiner Brand Shelf Liner, to make it easy to wipe spills clean.

2. Add order to kitchen cupboards. When organizing cabinets, place everyday items such as cups and dishes in easily accessible cupboards, and store things that you use less frequently, like fine china, on the harder-to-reach shelves.

When it comes to the pile of cookie sheets and cupcake pans shoved in that hard-toreach cabinet, use a basic file organizer to create a neatly organized bakeware zone.

3. Categorize your pantry.

Store your food by category, such as breakfast or baking, with the items that are mostused placed front and center. If you have kids, set up a snack zone, so they don’t rifle through other shelves. Pro Tip: Ensure small items don’t fall through the spaces in wire racks by laying down a base on the shelves, such as Solid Grip EasyLiner Brand Shelf Liner.

4. Organize the junk drawer.

Eighty percent of Americans report that they have at least one junk drawer in their home, but the average household actually has three of these catchall drawers, according to Duck brand research.

Store your food by category in your pantry.

To wrangle this chaotic space, install bins or trays to keep similar contents together and make it easy to see what’s actually in there. For larger pieces, shelf liners with a grip surface and grip bottom provide cushioning, hold items in place and protect the drawer bottom. Plus, they’re removeable for easy cleaning.

5. Declutter your linen closet. To make the linen closet as functional as possible, utilize adjustable dividers to sort textiles and fold sheets into pillow cases to ensure bedding sets stay together. Additionally, ensure your linens are protected

from potential damage by installing shelf liners. Melamine or veneer shelves can cause fabric to yellow, and textiles that are laid directly onto wire shelves inevitably form crease lines, but a layer of multi-purpose liner can preserve linens and even add a pop of color or style to your closet.

For additional organizational tips, visit DuckBrand.com.

Whether you tackle it as part of a purging effort or to simplify your life, the best way to handle decluttering is in stages.

- StatePoint

Theme: THE 1920s from Page 18

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Voice of Asia is looking to hire a Marketing Director full-time.

We are also open to Internship part-time in marketing and reporting.

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VOICE OF ASIA 20

FRIDAY, May 17, 2019

Home&Real Estate The real estate market is hot again — unless you’re selling a luxury home “Buyers need to be ready — or they’re not going to get a home, ” said one real estate expert.

by Herb Weisbaum

I

t’s peak home-buying season, and conditions in some of the country’s previously super-heated housing markets are dramatically different from a year ago, when homes were hard to come by and prices were sky high.

In expensive coastal markets, sales and prices are seeing double digit declines, according to analysis from Redfin. Year-over-year sales dropped by 19 percent in Los Angeles; 16 percent in Orange County, California; 15 percent in Seattle; and 14 percent in San Francisco.

“Home prices got so expensive in those places — we saw double-digit price growth in the last couple of years — so this is kind of a correction year for those markets,” said Daryl Fairweather, Redfin chief economist.

In more affordable parts of the country, such as Milwaukee and Minneapolis, home sales are doing quite well and prices are going up, Redfin’s data shows. Several large markets on the East Coast with affordable prices also saw big annual sales gains, with Baltimore up 35 percent and Orlando up 24 percent.

“It’s all about affordability,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors.

“Prices had reached a point in some areas that they were beyond the reach of many potential buyers. As a result, prices have dropped and sales have slowed.”

The affordability factor, combined with tax law changes, are hurting the market for luxury homes at the top end of the market.

“Before, you could fully deduct mortgage interest and property taxes,” Yun said. “Now, as part of the state and local income tax limit of $10,000 that many people have, those expensive home real estate property taxes are becoming a big burden.”

The sales price of homes priced at $2 million or more fell 1.6 percent to $1.55 million nationwide in the first quarter of the year, Redfin reports.

This is the first annual decline in nearly three years.

Sales of luxury homes declined 16 percent year over year in the first quar-

ter, the biggest drop in luxury home sales since 2010. At the same time, the number of luxury homes on the market shot up 14 percent.

O

ut of the country’s 8,700 Opportunity Zones created as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 22 of them have seen the number of households with an income over $200,000 grow by at least ten percentage points, according to a study released last week by analytics firm Webster Pacific.

The study, “Wind at Your Back: Finding the Top 50 Opportunity Zones for Real Estate Investment,” looked at the increased presence of high-income households between the years 2000 and 2017 to determine where economic appreciation was already taking place before the tax cuts were implemented. As they state in their report, “our analysis of real estate values has shown that incomes and wealth correlate strongly with real estate value,” so the measurement of increased household wealth at the very upper tier is a strong proxy measurement for determining where real estate value has also increased.

The goal of the Opportunity Zones initiative is to provide tax incentives for investors who make long term capital investment in designated lowincome areas. Investors must invest through a qualified Opportunity Fund and in return can receive one of three types of financial benefits—a temporary deferral of inclusion in taxable income for capital gains reinvested into an Opportunity Fund; a step-up in basis for capital gains reinvested in an Opportunity Fund; and a permanent exclusion in taxable income of capital gains if the investment is held for at least ten years. The investment property has to have a positive impact on the community so the fine print excludes properties such as golf courses or country clubs, but not necessarily buildings for luxury hotels.

The study focused on households earning $200,000 or higher since that is the top income tier in the decennial census questionnaire. The top of the

In honor of Asian Pacific Heritage Month, we’re highlighting the visionary designers on our must-follow list.

From architecture to industrial design, and textile art to illustration, the Asian-

Pacific American creatives gracing our Instagram feeds are making waves in a huge range of disciplines. Hit the “follow” button to get an instant dose of design inspiration to your daily scroll.

In markets that have cooled, buyers will face fewer bidding wars, giving them time to shop around and figure out what they want; maybe even negotiate on price.

Last year at this time, 75 percent of sellers in San Francisco and San Jose had multiple offers, Redfin’s data shows. It was down to 22 percent in April. In the Seattle metro area, buyers faced a bidding war 72 percent of the time last April. Today, it’s only 15 percent.

In the first quarter of this year, 72 percent of homes sold below their original list price, according to a report by Knock, a website that helps people buy and sell houses. Knock predicts that the percentage will increase to 75 percent in the second quarter.

The current slowdown might not last very long in some previously frenzied markets. The latest report from the National Association of Realtors shows pending home sales rose in March, reversing course from February. The association’s Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signing, rose 3.8 percent in March. Sales activity in the West, which had been relatively stable for five months, also increased.

Some believe the affordability correction has already happened in places like Seattle, where inventory is up and prices have come down or leveled off.

Combine that with a booming economy and lower mortgage rates — the average 30-year fixed rate loan is now 4.14 percent — and prices are headed back up again.

Mimi Jung | @bymimijung Cliff Fong | @cliffspot With a portfolio of A-lister homes including those of Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Cliff Fong creates unexpected environments in both residential and commercial spaces. Deeply embedded in the Los Angeles design community, he’s been a fashion buyer and designer, stylist, and interior designer.

Textile artist Mimi Jung creates topographies and sculptural forms that, through their use of voids and transparencies, invite viewers to turn the gaze inward. Her woven installations have traveled across the U.S., and have also been exhibited in Copenhagen, Brussels, London, and Melbourne. Her art also plays a large role in Early Work, the design practice she helms along with husband Brian Hureqitz.

Fong is also a partner at Galerie Half, a purveyor of European antiques and 20th-century design. His feed is a striking display of spaces he’s inspired by, his projects, and vignettes of Galerie Half.

“With mortgage rates flat and inventory picking up, we expect more buyers to take advantage of easing housing market headwinds,” said Ralph McLaughlin, deputy chief economist at CoreLogic.

“It’s a seller’s market again and buyers need to be ready — or they’re not going to get a home, ” said Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of Seattle-based John L. Scott Real Estate.

- CBS News

The best performing opportunity zones for real estate investors

by Amy Dobson

4 Asian-Pacific American designers you should follow on Instagram right now

list found Gowanus in South Brooklyn going from having only 0.3% of households earning over $200,000 in 2000 to 21.6% of households reaching that level 17 years later.

Ten other census tracts within the same New York county (called Kings County) showed up on their list of the top 50 best-performing Opportunity Zones. Another three tracts in other New York counties also appear on the list, making New York the state with the highest number of tracts to see improvement before the tax cuts were implemented.

Here is the list of the top ten tracts and the percentage increase seen over the past 17 years.

Kings County, New York: 21.3% Vanderburgh 19.8% Oklahoma 16.2%

County, County,

Indiana: Oklahoma:

Kings County, New York: 16.0%

Syrette Lew | @mvngmtns For some seriously drool-worthy furniture, head over to Brooklyn–based Syrette Lew’s Instagram. Her Moving Mountains designs are minimalist, whimsical, and of-themoment, and she works with regional craftsmen and fabricators to manifest her playful visions.

Lew’s pieces are generally made to order, but she also collaborates with select clients to offer unique, one-off commissions, including for New York-based retailer Colony. Find captures of her collection, places she’s visited, and inspiration on her feed.

IMPERIAL

Eny Lee Parker | @enyleeparker Eny Lee Parker uses clay to create objects, furniture, and lighting. Her designs are delightful and unexpected: take, for example, the Oo Lamp, reminiscent of chunky cactus tops in a myriad of hues.

-Jen Woo, Dwell.com

REALTORS

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District of Columbia: 14.3% Kings County, New York: 14.0% (tract number: 36047001500) Los Angeles County, California: 13.9% New York County, New York: 13.8% Fairfield 13.3%

County,

Connecticut:

Alameda County, California: 13.2% A few of these tracts saw that their percentages increase from zero or just about zero, such as Indiana (1.6%) and Oklahoma (0%), though most of them started out with at least a few percentage points on the scoreboard. It isn’t too much of a surprise that many of the ones at the top are in areas very close to locales that would already be considered affluent, but to see such double-digit increases in a full 22 tracts begets the question why they were identified as needing a tax break in the first place.

- Forbes

by Patrick Sisson

H

ome design software isn’t new.

What’s potentially game-changing about Higharc is how it combines actual terrain-and-lot data, customized home layouts, and artificial intelligence and algorithms to make sure that any home designed with the program is up to code. Users can enter an address and visualize a custom home in 3D. Higharc uses public data sources and a program called Mapbox to fetch terrain data, and gathers building code data from the International Code Council (which previously sued another startup, UpCodes, for allegedly using its codes without paying a licensing fee).

After registering, users can then choose the size and style of their home—currently, there are options for modern contemporary and modern farmhouse—and then add and subtract

different types of rooms, or alter different features.

Minor showed me demo of the program, using the case of a home on a lot with a large oak tree, and demonstrated how the placement and size of different windows could be used to wrap the home around the landscape.

With every change to the plan, a running tally of the cost of construction was updated in the lower left corner of the screen. The custom algorithm for pricing takes into account numerous details, from ceiling height and finishes to the average cost of labor in a particular market.

“We’re trying to make good design accessible to more people,” says Minor. “And the web is synonymous with accessibility.”

The idea behind Higharc came from Marc Minor and his wife’s experience moving to North Carolina. They sought to buy land near Minor’s broth-

er and build their own custom home, but the process left Minor frustrated.

He and his wife tried a semi-custom solution, making small changes to a stock house plan, in hopes that such a scheme was within their price range.

An architect they were working with came back and said simply changing the plans would cost $25,000.

“There’s really no good solution for a buyer who wants to build a custom home that’s not budget constrained,” says Minor. “It’s a very opaque process, with no customer-friendly product, and its extremely expensive to do anything that’s not extremely generic.”

Will algorithms replace architects?

Minor sees this as not pushing architects out, but expanding the marketplace, and offering designers a chance to sell their ideas in a semi-customizable format.

- Engadget.com