Sebastian Salazar evaluates Mexico's draw with Jamaica and compares it with the U.S.'s draw with Martinique. Herculez Gomez breaks down Mexico's underwhelming win over El Salvador, and the changes he expects against Jamaica.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- It's sometimes difficult to sift through the layers of hype and/or criticism and arrive at objective conclusions when assessing Mexico. El Tri simply generates so much interest.

Over three Gold Cup group games in the United States against minnows El Salvador, Jamaica and Curacao, El Tri has drawn an average of 48,500 fans per match. The news conferences for coach Juan Carlos Osorio are packed and it doesn't seem ridiculous to suggest there could be more journalists covering Mexico at the Gold Cup than all the other nations put together.

The green-clad supporters packing the stadiums are all there to cheer on the side and expect to see El Tri win. If the victory includes multiple goals to assert the notion of Mexico's regional dominance, then all the better. But here's the dilemma for Mexico at the 2017 Gold Cup: the experimental squad and tournament (the best players were all at the Confederations Cup) is all about Osorio testing and getting to know the players likely to be challenging the established figures over coming years. It's about those players getting used to life with Mexico; seeing how comfortable they are and readying them for the future.

Those inside the squad know that. And perhaps that is why Jesus Duenas was slightly upset after last Thursday's 0-0 draw against Jamaica, after which Mexico was booed and chants of "Osorio out" rained down from the stands in Denver.

"People are like that," he said. "If you lose or draw everything is against you; if you win you are the best. We don't play to make people happy, we play to make ourselves content personally, as a group, and then as a consequence the people [will be happy]."

There was outrage in Mexico and Duenas' words became the main talking point on many sports shows. The Tigres midfielder was forced to apologize and while his words may have been slightly clumsy, he was only being honest.

The group stage was a chance for Osorio and the coaching staff to draw some conclusions, safe in the knowledge that the standard of opposition wasn't likely to complicate Mexico's passage to the quarterfinals. The Colombian coach used 21 of his 23 available players over the group stage in a rotation that is extreme even for Osorio.

But the Gold Cup has not been pretty so far for El Tri. There are growing pains, clear evidence that the squad hasn't played together much and difficulties both in defensive cohesion and attacking incisiveness. The win over El Salvador was generally a good display, but Jamaica frustrated Mexico, who were then reliant on a great goalkeeping performance against Curacao.

On the positive side, Elias Hernandez has stepped up to be a major contender for a spot moving forward and goalkeeper Jesus Corona has shown he still has it at 36. There have been solid performances from midfielder Orbelin Pineda, a deserved debut for centre-back Cesar Montes and 22-year-old Erick Gutierrez has captained the side.

"We continue consolidating a very good group of talented, young players than are the present and will be the future of Mexican football," said Osorio ahead of the Curacao game. "That factor, for me, is most gratifying and what I enjoy most in life."

It's a tricky situation for Osorio. If the scrutiny wasn't so intense, the experimentation would be more readily accepted and the wobbly performances viewed for what they are in the context of a tournament that was never the priority this summer. Now Osorio has to walk the tight-rope between fielding players -- and combinations of players -- he wants to see and also winning the tournament, which is pretty much the only thing that could happen to calm the critics, at least temporarily.

Memories can also be short. Two years ago Mexico may have won the Gold Cup but El Tri was far from convincing. Mexico finished second to Trinidad and Tobago in the group, was reliant on a very late and dubious penalty against Costa Rica in the quarterfinal, another couple of penalties against Panama in a raucous and controversial semi, before finally playing a decent game against Jamaica in the final.

And all that was with a squad including Carlos Vela, Guillermo Ochoa, Guardado, Giovani dos Santos, Diego Reyes, Hector Herrera, Jesus "Tecatito" Corona and Jonathan dos Santos.

This time around and with Mexico's reserve squad not clicking as fans, pundits and Osorio himself would have liked, it is clear that the United States is now favourite for the Gold Cup.

Bringing in Tim Howard, Michael Bradley, Jose Altidore, Clint Dempsey and Darlington Nagbe at half-time of the competition gives the U.S. the edge, although the experience that Mexico's young squad would get from playing Americans in the final on July 26 would be worth its weight in gold regardless of the result.

Tom Marshall covers Liga MX and the Mexican national team for ESPN FC. Twitter: @MexicoWorldCup.

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Mexico's Gold Cup side a work in progress, not the finished article - ESPN FC (blog)

The University of Montana, for all its struggles in recent years, can proudly claim some important successes. One of the most important of these is its work in prevention and response to sexual assaults on campus.

The reforms instituted at UM have been held up repeatedly as a model not just for other education institutions in Montana, but across the U.S. And that comes not a moment too soon, given the longstanding, nationwide problem of sex assault on campuses. The U.S. Department of Education puts the number of college victims, admittedly under-reported, at 20 percent of women and 6 percent of men.

And yet the Education Department, under new Secretary Betsy DeVos, appears poised to roll back critical improvements like those made at UM, returning college campuses to an outdated system that allows rapists to go unpunished and free to rape again.

This line of thinking must be disputed in no uncertain terms. We cannot allow all the progress made at UM to unravel due to ignorance and a too-weak response to bad suggestions.

Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, who was so instrumental in helping the Missoula County Attorneys Office under former County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg reach an understanding with the U.S. Department of Justicice, must take a firm position in support of the campus sex assault guidelines adopted during the Obama administration.

Fox, a Republican, must be among those making a forceful argument to Trump administration officials. He must unequivocally support the current recommended system, which makes it easier for university officials to support students who reported sexual assaults and penalize students who commit sexual assault.

Last week DeVos held listening sessions that rightly garnered backlash for including representatives from so-call mens rights groups in an apparent attempt to provide balance. Unbelievably, the acting director of the civil rights office for the Education Department, Candice Jackson, told the New York Times that Title IX investigations have not been balanced because 90 percent of accusations fall into the category of 'we were both drunk,' 'we broke up, and six months later I found myself under a Title IX investigation because she just decided that our last sleeping together was not quite right.'"

Jackson has since apologized, but it should concern every American that the person in charge of handling civil rights for the Education Department holds beliefs about rape that would have been considered ill-informed and outdated more than 20 years ago, and which is disproved by data from her own department.

The University of Montana became the focus of federal investigations five years ago, after allegations of sexual assault and the universitys handling of those reports, as well as the response from local police and prosecutors, were brought to the attention of the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education. Settlements were subsequently reached with each entity involved, and local agencies have since fulfilled the terms of those agreements.

In 2011, before the federal investigations began, the U.S. Department of Education directed all universities to use a preponderance of evidence standard for sexual assault investigations involving students. Previously, some campuses had relied on a clear and convincing legal standard that did not meet Title IX requirements. The Education Department mandate clarified the process and made it more consistent across campuses.

Most importantly, however, it allowed universities that found it more likely than not that sexual violence had occurred to discipline or expel the offender. This did not, of course, affect the criminal investigation process, which is conducted outside the university system.

Universities are not courts of law and do not have the investigative or legal authority of police. Rather, they are tasked with educating students in an environment where the civil rights of are students are respected equally. Title IX is based on ensuring equal access to federally supported education programs regardless of gender.

But the clear and convincing standard of evidence used by some universities wrongly applied a criminal legal definition to a civil rights matter, and stacked the deck from the get-go against those who reported being sexual assaulted. It meant that a university investigation might conclude that sexual violence had occurred, but result in no punishment whatsoever for the rapist.

The current guidelines have provided an important tool for universities to crack down on sexual assault, a widespread problem that has been allowed to fester for far too long. It boggles the mind that DeVos reportedly does not consider these guideline appropriate and is open to tossing them out.

That would return Americas college campuses to a system that should be left in the dustbins of history.

The entire Montana University System must swiftly and clearly communicate that to DeVos. AG Fox must speak up in support of the current guidelines as well. Politics aside, maintaining policy improvements that make our college campuses safer and protect our students from sexual assault is clearly the right thing to do.

See more here:

Don't let DeVos unravel progress on campus rape response - The Missoulian

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Those interested in a firsthand look at the latest in agricultural innovations and state-of-the-art farm machinery won't want to miss this year's Ag Progress Days, Aug. 15-17.

"The Ag Progress Days exposition is a must-see for all farmers, growers and anyone with an interest in agricultural advancements," said Jesse Darlington, Ag Progress Days interim manager. "The demonstrations provide a comprehensive look at new goods, services, and the latest equipment and methods to improve efficiency and profitability."

Darlington said attendees should plan to come early and stay late as there will be 500 commercial and educational exhibits, as well as numerous field demonstrations and workshops. Commercial exhibitors will display virtually every product category, including field machinery, milking systems, animal genetics, storage structures, seed, feed, tools, trailers, sprayers, mixers, livestock housing, utility vehicles, fertilizers, fencing, financial products, insurance and more.

Field demonstrations are always a draw, Darlington said, and enable potential buyers to see and compare equipment in action. A new demonstration in 2017 will spotlight pull-type, no-till corn planters. Other demonstrations will feature hay mowers, rakes and tedders, hay balers, and bale handlers. All demonstrations are weather-permitting.

At the Farm Safety Demonstration Area, safety specialists will promote equipment designed to reduce the risk of accidents, such as hay-hole covers. Seminars focusing on guidance systems, sprayers and drones and how they can be used safely also are planned. The safety specialists also will address some of the potential dangers for children on the farm.

Darlington encourages producers attending Ag Progress Days to ask questions of Penn State faculty specialists and extension educators and talk with experts about the latest research findings, best practices, business issues and governmental regulations that could affect their operations. Information will be available on issues related to dairy, livestock and crop production; animal health; soil conservation; water quality; and ag renewable energy.

In addition, horse enthusiasts can get the latest information on tack and equipment, training, handling, health and business practices, as well as view a six-horse hitch and various breeds at the Ag Progress Days Equine Experience.

Sponsored by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, Ag Progress Days is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, 9 miles southwest of State College on Route 45. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 15; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 16; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 17. Admission and parking are free.

For more information, visit the Ag Progress Days website. Twitter users can find and share information about the event by using the hashtag #agprogress, and Facebook users can find the event here.

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No-till corn planters among machinery demos planned for Ag Progress Days - Penn State News

Vicki Spriggs, For the Express-News

Photo: Julysa Sosa / For The San Antonio Express-News /Julysa Sosa / For The San Antonio Express-News

Progress made, but theres more to do for Texas children

In his January State of the State address, Gov. Greg Abbott elevated the reform of the child protection system as his No. 1 emergency item.

This occurred against the backdrop of U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jacks 2015 ruling that Texas foster care system violated childrens constitutional right to be free from an unreasonable risk of harm. Media scrutiny also revealed major problems with Child Protective Services, such as children sleeping in hotels and CPS offices due to placement shortages.

Our system was in crisis; with high turnover and high caseloads, the foundation was crumbling as children slipped through the gaps. Under the leadership of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus, the Legislature took significant steps toward filling these gaps and began the process of re-laying a solid foundation to build on in the coming sessions.

As a result of new legislation and additional appropriations, substantive changes championed by Texas CASA and other child advocates were enacted, including measures to consolidate all investigations under CPS regardless of whether children live in foster care facilities or with families; increase foster care and kinship capacity; increase caseworker pay and lower caseloads; and enact structural changes to the Department of Family and Protective Services to help it operate with more flexibility, and ensure all reports of abuse and neglect are investigated in a thorough, consistent and timely manner.

By sessions end, significant reforms reached the governors desk, including a $508.5 million funding increase for DFPS. This substantial increase comes during an otherwise austere budget cycle highlighting how dedicated the Legislature was to making child welfare reform a priority.

Already, the CPS workforce has begun to stabilize, thanks to Sen. Jane Nelson and other state leaders. With their leadership, caseworkers received a much-needed pay raise in December that, along with increased staffing to lower caseloads, has led to improved child protection.

Lawmakers also turned their attention to addressing the need for more foster homes. Currently, about 60 percent of children are placed outside their home counties. With an investment of $95 million toward payment increases to foster care providers and an expansion of foster care redesign, lawmakers hope to bolster the number and quality of providers, and improve the chances of children being placed closer to their home and families.

The expansion of foster care redesign, now called community-based care, also aims to keep children closer to home, reduce the number of times a child changes placements, and ensure children and families have access to supports and services in each community.

A major CPS reform bill increases the placements for children with relatives, known as kinship placement. Spearheaded by Rep. Cindy Burkett and Sen. Charles Schwertner, this legislation better supports family members who take in children in CPS care. Family caregivers who once received an annual $1,000 payment and an additional annual payment of $500 for each sibling will now receive approximately $350 per month per child, about half of what basic foster care providers receive.

The future looks brighter for children in foster care than it did back in January, yet theres more to be done. The focus must remain on the best interest of the children. All aspects of our child protection system need to become more informed about the complex trauma that abused and neglected children experience and how it affects their behavior. We also need to create mechanisms that engage and involve relatives and other caring adults to support children in foster care, such as the Collaborative Family Engagement program that CASA programs are developing with CPS.

Lawmakers took meaningful steps to change the fate of Texas children. We continue to move forward from here. It will take time, it will be gradual, and it will be worth it because our children are worth it. When foster children have the level of care and services they need, they will begin to thrive and when our kids thrive, so will Texas.

Vicki Spriggs is the chief executive officer of Texas CASA.

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Progress made, but there's more to do for Texas children - San ... - mySanAntonio.com

The Broncos are moving closer toward a new deal for their top football executive.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Saturday evening that the team and general manager/executive vice president John Elway are making progress toward an extension that would keep him in Denver for the foreseeable future.

"We're working to get it done," Joe Ellis, Broncos CEO and president, told The Gazette in Colorado Springs. "We've had some productive discussions in the last week or so and will keep talking. John's an important part of our organization, and we want to make sure he's here for a long time."

Talks ramped up this week after a period of stagnation and there is optimism it will get done at some point before the season, Rapoport added.

Elway told The Associated Press back in May that he did not "think there will be any doubt" a deal gets done before the season opener.

The new deal would likely place Elway among the highest paid GMs, if not the highest.

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Broncos, John Elway making progress toward deal - NFL.com

15 July 2017 Speaking to reporters in the early hours of Saturday in Geneva, United Nations Special Envoy said that the latest round of the intra-Syrian talks ended with incremental progress.

We made, as we were expecting and hoping, incremental progress. No breakthrough, no breakdown, no one walking out, incremental progress, Staffan de Mistura said at a press conference, following the conclusion of the 10-15 July round of the UN-facilitated talks aimed at ending six years of war in the Middle East country.

Referring to a technical consultative mechanism agreed on in the previous round, he said that in addition to this technical agreement there has been a generous effort among them (the opposition) to build something they didn't have before, trust, mutual trust.

I would not have imagined two months ago that they would have been sitting in such an intensive and constructive way together in confidence, the envoy said.

He said he intends to reconvene the intra-Syrian talks in early September.

I have asked the parties to be ready to offer clear, substantive positions on issues across all four baskets, and we hope that we will be at least pushing them to sit in the same room.

The four baskets are: a credible non-sectarian transitional government; a future constitution; early and free parliamentary elections within 18 months; and a united war against terrorism within Syria.

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Syria talks end with 'incremental progress' but 'no breakthrough' UN envoy - ReliefWeb

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Exhibits, games, activities and prizes focused on learning about bugs, animals, health and science will be offered for children at Penn States Ag Progress Days expo, Aug. 15-17.

In interactive exhibits at the4-H Youth Building, on Main Street between West Eighth and West Ninth streets at the Ag Progress Days site, children can learn about 4-H programming in science, engineering, technology, citizenship, leadership and healthy living. They can find out how to get involved with 4-H, play with rabbits, see robotics demonstrations, and learn about farm and home safety and plant diseases.

This years youth building will showcase the variety of activities that can be done in 4-H, said building coordinator Jeanette Blank, 4-H education program associate and teen program manager. We are also excited to be hosting the first Ag Olympics event for our 4-H families and alumni, as well as the public, during the shows extended hours on Wednesday night.

Following are other Ag Progress Days attractions for youth and families:

TheShavers Creek Environmental Center exhibit, on Main Street between West Eighth and West Ninth streets near the 4-H Youth Building, will feature presentations on wildlife, including turtles, birds of prey, snakes, amphibians and insects.

At theKids Climb, on Main Street near the Equine Exhibits Building, children can don safety equipment and harnesses and climb a tree like a professional arborist.

Hands-on exhibits at thePasto Agricultural Museum, on East Tenth Street across from the red barn, will give visitors a glimpse into farm and rural life before the widespread use of electricity and gas-powered equipment.

Demonstrations on healthy eating, food safety, first aid and firearm safety will be offered at theFamily Room buildingon Main Street.

Visitors can get lost inA-Maze-N -Corn, outside the Joseph D. Harrington Crops, Soils, and Conservation Building, at the end of East Fifth Street. This corn maze is accessible for wheelchairs and baby strollers.

Miniature horses, draft horses and other breeds will be among the demonstrations at theEquine Experience, at the top of Main Street.

At thePedal Go Kart Derby, on West Eighth Street behind the Family Room building, kids supply the power as they travel a serpentine track.

Sponsored by Penn StatesCollege of Agricultural Sciences, Ag Progress Days is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, 9 miles southwest of State College on Route 45. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 15; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Aug. 16; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 17. Admission and parking are free.

For more information, visit the Ag Progress Days website athttp://apd.psu.edu. Twitter users can find and share information about the event by using the hashtag #agprogressdays, and Facebook users can find the event athttp://www.facebook.com/AgProgressDays.

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Learning is the Focus for Children's Activities at Ag Progress Days - Gant Daily

DECATUR The Super Bowl of agriculture is coming back to Central Illinois.

Crews are readying nearly 90 acres and more than 2.9 million square feet north of Richland Community College for the three-day Farm Progress showwhich starts Aug. 29. More than 600 exhibitors are expected, along with as many as 150,000 visitors from around the globe.

The event billed as the Nation's Largest Outdoor Farm Event combines elements of an international trade show, technology conference and demonstration site. In a maze of tents and buildings known as Progress City USA, vendors show every agricultural and livestock product imaginable, from weed control to gleaming $400,000 combines, often with eye-catching 3-D displays.

Beyond primary display grounds, entire fields are dedicated to seeing equipment in action, showing off tillage techniques and the latest in global-positioning systems.

Plumbers Matt Peters, left, and Ben Forgas perform manhole castings adjustment work at Progress City Monday. Crews are getting nearly 90 acres ready for Farm Progress, a showcase of agricultural and livestock wares.

Companies, from giants like Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Monsanto to smaller agribusinesses, exhibit the latest wares and hint at the future of agriculture.

The show, which alternates between locations in Decatur and Boone, Iowa, started in Armstrong, Illinois, in 1953 as a way for farmers to see firsthand the progress being made in farming equipment, seed varieties and agricultural chemicals.

Since 2005, the parcels near Richland have housed the show and the site improved to includes permanent structures and paved roads. The show is produced by London-based Informa Global Events.

With just over 40 days left until opening day, Greg Florian said work is on schedule to have the grounds ready for exhibitors and visitors.

Its gotten easier to prepare as the site has evolved, said Florian, vice president of finance and administration at Richland, which oversees the Progress City site.

The last show had visitors from 50 countries.

Brazilians come to see what they can expect in the near future, said Bruno Correa, an agronomist from Brazil, who attended the 2015 event.

Plumber Ben Forgas marks measurements before a pipe is cut for manhole castings adjustment work at Progress City. Farm Progress isbilled as the Nation's Largest Outdoor Farm Event."

It generates an estimated $10 million for the local economy, according to Florian.

Decatur Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Teri Hammel said the show has the largest economic impact in the community in the years Decatur is the host.

A big economic driver is in the hospitality field, with full hotel rooms across Central Illinois. According to a report put together by the bureau for the 2015 show, Decatur/Forsyth-area hotels had 5,468 room nights for Farm Progress, making $1.3 million on the three-day event. Springfield had a total of 5,800 room nights, also bringing in $1.3 million.

That number does not count those that Hammel said come to Decatur more than a month in advance to start setting up their exhibits and weeks after the show to help tear down.

Were talking several extra million there for the local economy, she said.

The bureaus work starts in January, and ranges from setting up hotel rooms for vendors and attendees, which Hammel says can mean sold-out rooms as far as Springfield or Champaign-Urbana. They also work with embassies to help international farmers attend and educate them on the locations of goods and services in the region, such as hardware stores and restaurants.

Its chaos for us, but theres also a lot of excitement, she said. This (show) fills our community.

Nearly $500,000 also was spent this year hiring Decatur-based Dunn Co. to improve roadways, fix drainage and shoulders and patch potholes. It was funded by grant dollars, Informa, money in the county highway fund left over from the sites original construction and Brush College LLC, created by the college to help operate the site.

Theyll have the roads all fixed up by the time exhibitors start to set up, said Macon County Highway Engineer Bruce Bird.

In 2015, crews expanded the site, added three streets and built 100 more exhibit spots on the southwest side of the venue.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling A group from Chihuahua, Mexico, including from left, John Peters, Peter Peters, Abraham Nelson, Daniel Loewan and Franz Peters record the corn combining field demonstrations during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday September 1, 2015.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling A view from the Brock grain bin service platform provides a view of the flurry of activity down Eleventh Progress Street during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday September 1, 2015.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Troy Tracey eats ice cream while helping with the transport of ice back to the Dow AgroSciences tent during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday September 1, 2015.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Ticket holders wait along the Avenue of Flags for the gates to open during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday September 1, 2015.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Visitors look at a map of Progress City at the John Deere exhibit area during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday August 1, 2015.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Hunter Rademaker,4, helps demonstrate a grain bin lifeline at the Grain Handling Safety Coalition site next to the Health and Safety Tent during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Tuscola F.F.A. advisor Brittany Eubank, left, and member Jordan Ochs help set up the organizations booth during the first morning of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday. The group is selling raffle tickets at the show for a 1955 John Deere tractor that they helped restore. Proceeds from the raffle will benefit Tuscola F.F.A.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Dr. Joe Jeffrey emcees a cattle chute demonstration at the Livestock Industries Tent during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday. Jeffrey says he wanted to focus on how safe the shoots on display are for cows.

Rodney Crim of Golconda watches a corn combining demonstration with his grandson, Josaiah Crim, 4, on Tuesday at theFarm Progress Show in Decatur. Josaiah is attempting to block the dustwith his hat while his grandpa takes a picture of the combine with his cellphone.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Farm Progress host farmer Jeff Zinn has his blood pressure checked by E.M.T. Kristy Gorden at the Liberty Village table in the Health and Safety tent during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Eric Burgett performs country music on the Opening Ceremonies Bayer CropScience stage for ticket holders walking in the main entrance during the first morning of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Visitors peruse the Case IH Agriculture exhibit during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Several hundred people observe a corn combining demonstration during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Rodney Crim of Golconda, Ill., watches a corn combining demonstration with his grandson Josaiah Crim,4, as Josaiah attempts to block dust with his hat during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Several new models of farm equipment are parked in between field demonstrations during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling A group from Chihuahua, Mexico, including from left, John Peters, Peter Peters, Abraham Nelson, Daniel Loewan and Franz Peters record the corn combining field demonstrations during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday September 1, 2015.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling A view from the Brock grain bin service platform provides a view of the flurry of activity down Eleventh Progress Street during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday September 1, 2015.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Troy Tracey eats ice cream while helping with the transport of ice back to the Dow AgroSciences tent during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday September 1, 2015.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Ticket holders wait along the Avenue of Flags for the gates to open during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday September 1, 2015.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Visitors look at a map of Progress City at the John Deere exhibit area during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday August 1, 2015.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Hunter Rademaker,4, helps demonstrate a grain bin lifeline at the Grain Handling Safety Coalition site next to the Health and Safety Tent during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Tuscola F.F.A. advisor Brittany Eubank, left, and member Jordan Ochs help set up the organizations booth during the first morning of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday. The group is selling raffle tickets at the show for a 1955 John Deere tractor that they helped restore. Proceeds from the raffle will benefit Tuscola F.F.A.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Dr. Joe Jeffrey emcees a cattle chute demonstration at the Livestock Industries Tent during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday. Jeffrey says he wanted to focus on how safe the shoots on display are for cows.

Rodney Crim of Golconda watches a corn combining demonstration with his grandson, Josaiah Crim, 4, on Tuesday at theFarm Progress Show in Decatur. Josaiah is attempting to block the dustwith his hat while his grandpa takes a picture of the combine with his cellphone.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Farm Progress host farmer Jeff Zinn has his blood pressure checked by E.M.T. Kristy Gorden at the Liberty Village table in the Health and Safety tent during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Eric Burgett performs country music on the Opening Ceremonies Bayer CropScience stage for ticket holders walking in the main entrance during the first morning of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Visitors peruse the Case IH Agriculture exhibit during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Several hundred people observe a corn combining demonstration during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Rodney Crim of Golconda, Ill., watches a corn combining demonstration with his grandson Josaiah Crim,4, as Josaiah attempts to block dust with his hat during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Several new models of farm equipment are parked in between field demonstrations during the first day of the Farm Progress Show Tuesday.

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Herald & Review, Jim Bowling Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show at Progress City in Decatur, Ill., Tuesday September 1, 2015

Florian said roadwork has not gotten a lot of attention since the first show on the grounds, in 2005.

After 12 years of being out there, the vehicles are getting bigger and the exhibits are getting bigger, he said. The roads were really starting to show their age.

Some exhibitors have started preparations on plots. As of Thursday afternoon, 554 exhibitors were expected to attend. With more than a month before the show, that is par the course, said Jeff Smith, regional sales manager for Informa.

One change this year is that there will be no headliner country act performing and evening concert. Where past shows have seen national country singers like Craig Morgan and Chris Cagle take the stage to thousands of fans, the only musical acts at this years show will be ones brought by exhibitors.

I think with the farm economy the way it is right now, none of the sponsors stepped up, Florian said. It just wasnt in the cards.

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150000 projected in Decatur for Farm Progress - Herald & Review

Rebelution now has five studio albums and a live DVD/CD under their collective belts. Theyve seen two of their studio albums, 2012s Peace Of Mind, 2014s Count Me In, make top 15 debuts on Billboard magazines all-genre Top 200 album chart. The band has grown a grassroots following to the point that it headlines outdoor amphitheaters in many markets.

But singer/guitarist Eric Rachmany hardly sounds like he has everything figured out as a performer and artist. Thats actually good news for fans of the reggae-rooted band because it means theyre likely to see a better version of the band each time Rebelution goes on tour. This summer's tour makes a stop at North Charleston Riverfront Park on Friday.

I mean, every year, we become a little bit more comfortable on stage and we are able to let loose a little bit more, Rachmany said during a recent phone interview. This whole project, Rebelution, has been a learning process throughout the years. We started this band not really knowing what we were doing. We were just doing it for fun. And we kind of had to learn how to become better entertainers over the years. Every year we just get a little bit better and we become stronger musicians and stronger bandmates and better performers. Were learning new things as we go.

What: Rebelution: The Good Vibes Summer Tour 2017

When: 6:15 p.m. Friday, July 21

Where: North Charleston Riverfront Park

Tickets and info: $30-$35; http://www.musicfarm.com

As Rachmany suggests, Rebelution was anything but seasoned and polished when the band first starting making noise in 2004 on the burgeoning Cali reggae/rock scene. Thats when Rachmany met his future bandmates Rory Carey (keyboards) Wesley Finley (drums) and Marley D Williams (bass) while attending college in the Santa Barbara, California, area.

The group took a do-it-yourself- approach to building its career, self-producing a self-titled 2006 EP, followed by its first full-length album, Courage To Grow, in 2007 and 2009s Bright Side of Life.

The groups growing musical ambition and abilities really started to show on Peace Of Mind. For that album, the group branched beyond its reggae foundation, adding a rock edge to Comfort Zone, Lady In White and Day By Day, doing a gentle acoustic ballad, Route Around, and mixing a bit of a lilting hip-hop flavor into the ballad Closer I Get.

The diversification in sound continued on Count Me In (the title track and De-Stress brought a strong element of soul into the proceedings). But with the 2016 album, Falling Into Place, Rebelution shifted back toward emphasizing their reggae roots, sounding more in command of the form than ever.

For Falling Into Place, the group teamed up with several outside producers/songwriters on several tracks. Dancehall singer Protoje adds a guest vocal to Inhale/Exhale, one of the standout songs on the album, while producers/songwriters Dwayne Supa Dups Chin-Quees and Yeti Beats were among the artists that produced tracks on the album.

Just as Rebelution has continued to grow musically, the band members continue to sharpen their game as a live unit. For his part, Rachmany said he has learned how to overcome his natural tendency to not want to be a focal point on stage and can now give performances that are honest and translate the passion he feels for the music to audiences.

Thats one thing Ive really learned over the years is to just get comfortable in the music, he said. You know, Im the kind of person who doesnt really like being the center of attention. I definitely dont desire that attention. One way Im able to get through a show is just by really getting into the art and not focusing on the fact that there may be thousands of people looking at me. So in that regard, I feel like I can get through anything. As long as the music is playing and Im thinking about the music and getting into my guitar playing and singing and really focusing on the creativity, then it doesnt really matter if there are cameras in my face and people staring at me. That came over time.

And now theres a document that illustrates how far Rebelution has come as a live act. This spring, the band released a DVD/CD, Live at Red Rocks, which documents a summer 2015 show at the famous Colorado outdoor amphitheater.

The band decided to do the live project, in a large part, because fans have been saying for years that the group is at its best on stage.

For the longest time a lot of people have said Rebelution is a live band, Rachmany said. So we wanted to really show our audience that hasnt seen us perform live that this is what we can do.

The timing of Live at Red Rocks might seem a bit odd in that the show documented on the release preceded the release in spring 2016 of Falling Into Place, and as such does not feature any songs from that latest studio release.

Rachmany said, though, there simply wasnt time to get Live at Red Rocks edited, mixed and prepared for release before the band needed to release Falling Into Place.

We definitely took our time putting it out, but we wanted to make sure it was right and ready and perfect in our eyes, he said.

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Reggae-rooted Rebelution always a work in progress - Charleston Post Courier

While Iraq has declared victory in Mosul and the battle for Raqqa heats up, the U.S. held a three-day summit of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS that ended Thursday, celebrating some key milestones and taking stock of the long road ahead.

After two days of coalition-wide meetings, U.S. Special Envoy to the Coalition Brett McGurk addressed the smaller core coalition group assembled Thursday to report that the fight against ISIS had accelerated over the last four months at President Donald Trump's request. He praised the heroism of Iraqi and Kurdish forces and the significant progress on the battlefield, with 25,000 square miles cleared of ISIS and 4.82 million people liberated from its rule -- over 3 million of them in Iraq alone.

That means ISIS holds just 2.2 percent of territory in Iraq now and 8.3 percent across the border in Syria. That also means 350,000 children who were living under ISIS are now back in school, after years of brainwashing.

In particular, McGurk shared some of the more horrific details of ISIS's brutality in Mosul's old city, where the last of its foreign fighters were holed up -- using civilians as human shields, forcing children to guard weapons depots, locking civilians in basements to prevent airstrikes, and fighting to the death with every last weapon they have, including their own bodies, strapped with explosives.

"This is one of the most brutal, vicious enemies we've seen in decades," McGurk said, adding that "the battle in Iraq is far from over," with more territory to retake, extensive stabilization efforts, and political reconciliation. In Syria, there is even more work to do -- and a greater challenge, without a government partner to work with, he said.

But people are also beginning to return home, too. Two million Iraqis who fled ISIS's rule have since returned home, including over 220,000 who have already returned to east Mosul -- even as the city is still being cleared.

One of the greatest challenges now is creating the circumstances for more to return. To that end, the U.S. announced $150 million for stabilization efforts last week -- like removing unexploded bombs and hidden IEDs and returning basic services like water, electricity and medical care.

At the conference Thursday, McGurk also announced $119 million in additional humanitarian aid to Iraq, bringing the U.S.'s total humanitarian aid since fiscal year 2014 to $1.4 billion. But that's just a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of need that remains -- $1.3 billion for post-ISIS humanitarian and stabilization programs, according to a United Nations estimate.

Since ISIS first declared its so-called caliphate, 40,000 foreign fighters journeyed from their homes -- more than 120 countries in all -- to join the terror group. As it suffers sustained losses in Iraq and Syria, the threat of many of them returning and exporting the terror and military techniques they learned on the battlefield has security officials around the world on edge. Interpol, which joined the coalition this year, has stepped up, creating a database that verifies, registers and helps track these foreign fighters, with 18,000 on record now.

The coalition is also doing what it can to stop ISIS or any alternative from reemerging in Iraq. The focus is still on the battlefield, not yet on politics, but to that end, they have trained over 100,000 members of the Iraqi Security Forces, who have yet to lose a battle to ISIS. In fact, McGurk said, nearly 300,000 Iraqis applied for just 3,000 spots in Iraq's elite counterterrorism force when postings went up just last week -- "a remarkable trend and a total transformation," he said.

McGurk also announced that while as a military coalition the 73 members are focused on Syria and Iraq, they are also looking to counter ISIS elsewhere. They held a special session on ISIS in the Lake Chad region in West Africa on Thursday, as Chad and Niger joined the coalition; Djibouti and Ethiopia in east Africa also joined this week, a sign of the growing threat in Africa. In addition, McGurk noted the "hockey stick-like growth of ISIS in Libya that we have helped root out," promising continued support for Libya.

The rest is here:

Latest stats show progress made against ISIS - ABC News

This photo was taken from a rooftop a few houses away from the Smith Street fire Friday afternoon. (Megan Rivers/WCIV)

Crews with the Charleston Fire Department were called to a house fire blocks away from a fire response in progress Friday afternoon.

Trucks were dispatched to 48 Smith Street in downtown Charleston at 3:19 p.m. Those driving in the area say smoke was visible from miles away. The fire department was already responding to a fire in the 100 block of Cannon Street.

Two men who live in the home on Smith Street said it started as a small fire that took off quickly. They said the fire spread so quickly they weren't able to grab anything before leaving. Inside the home were also a cat and lizard they believe did not make it out of the blaze.

Fire officials described the home as a very old, historic home with several apartments. In a press briefing just before 6 p.m. Interim Chief John Tippett said the fire spread quickly. Units from several local fire departments responded.

Tippett expected crews to be on the scene of several hours, and said there was some concern about collapse. He also said it is unusual to have two fires so close in proximity and time. He said some of the crews fighting the fire on Cannon Street left to respond to the Smith Street fire.

Several streets in the area were blocked as crews responded. Crews with SCE&G were also called to the scene to monitor and manage gas lines to prevent a larger problem. Power in the area was also temporarily shut off. SCE&G officials said gas was expected to remain off in the area until the morning, at least.

Mayor John Tecklenburg visited Smith Street Friday evening as firefighters continued to battle smoke and flames. He said he mainly wanted to "commend the incredible professionalism and bravery of the Charleston Fire Department." "...We should all be proud of them and remember every day that they are on call for us," Mayor Tecklenburg said.

Chief Tippett said two firefighters were transported for heat-related concerns early in the response. Later in the evening, two more firefighters were transported. Tippett said crews were being rotated due to heat exposure. There was also a civilian transported by EMS, but officials were unsure what that person's injury may have been. Tippett said the woman was transported with minor injuries after running back into her apartment to get a cat.

A tweet from the official account of the Charleston Fire Department stated firefighters would remain on Smith Street through the night to battle hot spots.

Check back with ABC News 4 as we continue to follow this story.

* ABC News 4's Megan Rivers contributed to this report.

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Crews respond to Smith Street fire, blocks from another fire in ... - ABC NEWS 4

"We have come a distance. We made progress. But there are forces in America trying to slow us down or take us back," Lewis told David Axelrod on a special televised edition of "The Axe Files," airing Friday at 10 p.m. ET on CNN.

One of those forces, Lewis suggested, is the President of the United States.

"I think the person we have in Washington today is uncaring," Lewis said, adding that he believes President Donald Trump "knows very, very little about the struggle and the history of the Civil Rights Movement."

Lewis indicated to Axelrod that he didn't see Trump as fully appreciative of the "countless individuals" who "gave everything they had" in pursuit of equal rights.

"Black and white people died, they gave their lives," Lewis said, referencing some of those murdered during the Civil Rights Movement.

Lewis said that he still does not believe that Trump is the legitimate commander-in-chief.

"I truly believe to this day that this election was rigged in his favor," he said.

"I know his record, I know his history, he has a very long history of being on the other side and not on the right side," Lewis told Axelrod, adding that he believes the Department of Justice "has withdrawn from the participation in the process of looking out for people."

"That is a form of intimidation. That's a form of harassment," Lewis told Axelrod.

"Some of the people that make up this commission have a history, a long history, of making it harder and difficult for people to participate in the democratic process," Lewis said without specifying which people in the commission to whom he was referring. "We've come too far. This President should be leading us into the future, not taking us backwards."

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Rep. John Lewis: Trump is 'uncaring,' threatens progress ... - CNN.com - CNN

The United Nations envoy to Syria has ended the latest round of peace talks, saying there have been no major breakthroughs but that incremental progress was made.

We have made, as we were expecting and hoping, incremental progress. No breakthrough, no breakdown, no one walking out, United Nations mediator Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Geneva.

He said he planned to convene an eighth round of indirect peace talks in early September between President Bashar Assads government and opposition leaders and said he has asked Assads envoys to be ready to address the political process in the next session.

International involvement

De Mistura said that by the next round of talks he hopes the international community will be able to push all sides to finally sit in the same room and start talking about substance. So far, the sides have been meeting separately with de Mistura.

When asked if he has seen any sign that the government of Assad has given any ground on a possible political transition, he said, no, I dont have any indication.

He noted, however, that there was an increase in mutual trust between different Syrian opposition groups. De Mistura wants to merge the three opposition groups participating in the talks before holding direct talks between the government and a unified opposition delegation.

De Mistura also said he warmly welcomes a call by French President Emmanuel Macron for the creation of a contact group made up of U.N. Security Council members and regional powers that would support a political road map for Syria.

I dont see any problem in having any maximum help in making sure that we get into serious negotiation, he said.

Repeated positions

Assads government and the opposition repeated long-held positions before leaving Geneva on Friday.

Assads delegation, led by Syrias U.N. ambassador Bashar al-Jaafari, said his side focused on counterterrorism issues.

The chief delegate for the main opposition High Negotiations Committee, Nasr al-Hariri, told reporters that the talks need to focus on the future of Assad, and he accused the government delegation of stalling the process.

Lets speak frankly, the Syrian regime, until this moment, is refusing any engagements and discussion or negotiation, he said.

Assads delegation has declared the presidents fate off-limits, while the opposition wants the matter to be part of the negotiations.

Cease-fire holding

The Syrian peace talks, meditated by the United Nations, began two years ago and have focused on finding a political solution to the six-year civil war.

This past round of talks opened with increased optimism as a cease-fire was recently put in place in southwest Syria, worked out by the United States, Russia, and Jordan.

Only sporadic violence has occurred since the truce went into force this past Sunday.

The United Nations reports the Syrian war, which has entered its seventh year, has killed about 400,000 people, displaced more than 6 million within the country and prompted nearly 5 million to flee as refugees to neighboring countries.

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Latest Round of Syrian Peace Talks End With 'Incremental Progress' - Voice of America

Barron's

IBM Q2 On Tap: Drexel Expects Progress, Guggenheim Expects Little Barron's For the bull case, Drexel Hamilton's Brian White, who has a Buy rating on the stock, and a $200 price target, writes today that he's not expecting fireworks, just more signs of progress in this transition." IBM's transition to cloud computing has been ... and more »

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IBM Q2 On Tap: Drexel Expects Progress, Guggenheim Expects Little - Barron's

The Chinese government is ratcheting up efforts to lure foreign investment and reverse decelerating inflows, but foreign companies are unhappy with the slow progress China is making in opening up.

Beijing unveiled its revised catalogue on foreign investment at the end of June, reducing market entry restrictions for industries such as transport services and auditing, and shortening the list of sectors that are off-limits to foreign investors in designated free trade zones.

Pan Gongsheng, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), delivered a speech at a financial conference organised by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China on Thursday and answered questions from the chambers member companies.

It was the third time this year that Pan has held public face-to-face dialogues with foreign business leaders who have expressed concern over Chinas limited market access and the disruptive impact of the tightening of capital controls that is part of Beijings daily operations.

The openness is not as fast as expectations would suggest, said Mats Harborn, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, at a media briefing on Wednesday. The rhetoric is not matched by concrete implementations.

Official statistics have signalled with increasing clarity that foreign investors may be losing interest in China. Ministry of Commerce data indicated that foreign direct investment into China dropped nearly 9 per cent in May from a year ago, marking the metrics largest fall in four months.

Beijing doubles down on luring foreign investors back to China, but will they come?

There are concerns in the government about the loss of steam in inflows of foreign direct investment, which is highly demanded in high-end industries, said Hu Xingdou, a professor with Beijing Institute of Technology.

The decline in foreign investment inflows may lead to the impression that Chinas investment environment is deteriorating and China is retreating from opening up, he said.

The European chamber approached SAFE in December, voicing its concerns about the disruptive impact on capital transfer and overseas payments of Chinas tightening capital controls, especially amid local regulators ambiguous guidance.

As a result, a hot line was established for foreign companies to directly report problems with capital transfer to the foreign exchange regulator in Beijing.

However, the hot line was not fully utilised as foreign companies feared reporting problems might trigger blow back and harsh treatment from local regulators, the EU chamber said. The line has become less and less important as regulators have engaged foreign companies actively to solve problems, according to the EU chamber.

In April, SAFE initiated a roundtable talk at which it sought to solicit feedback on difficulties encountered in capital management from executives of Chinese operators of multinational companies from Europe, Japan and the US such as BMW, Shell, and IBM.

Beijing cuts list of restrictions on foreign direct investment in free-trade zones

One month later, Pan held another dialogue with leading foreign companies, such as Caterpillar, Thyssenkrupp and Dell, to dispel concerns about capital outflows and reiterated Chinas commitment to opening up and facilitating investment.

Nevertheless, foreign companies are calling for concrete movement on opening up market access and creating a level playing field in China.

Wed like to recommend, following ambitions expressed by the State Council No. 5 document on encouraging opening-up and President Xi Jinpings speech in Davos in January, that one comprehensive negative list is used to show which sector is open for any type of companies, Harborn said. Its not meaningful to make a distinction between foreign enterprises and domestic enterprises.

But he also cited a lack of coordination among regulatory authorities and noted that possible conflicts exist between industrial policies and national security law. He suggested regulators increase their transparency in determining the negative list on investment limitation.

Doing so would also help to achieve substantial progress in bilateral investment agreement talks between China and European Union, now in their 14th round of negotiations in Brussels, he said.

China still needs massive foreign investment, especially in the high-end sectors. But China has not done enough in creating a level playing field to protect the interests of foreign investors, Hu Xingdou said.

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Foreign companies dissatisfied with China's slow progress in opening up investment markets - South China Morning Post

Dayton Business Journal

$17M Xenia community center makes progress - Dayton Business ... Dayton Business Journal The center is a shared project by the YMCA of Greater Dayton, the city of Xenia, the Xenia Adult Recreation and Services Center, Kettering Health Network, ... and more »

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$17M Xenia community center makes progress - Dayton Business ... - Dayton Business Journal

COLOMBO (Reuters) - The United Nations criticized Sri Lanka on Friday for slow progress in addressing war crimes and past human rights abuses and said the international community was running out of patience.

The U.N. and rights activists have accused the Sri Lankan military of killing thousands of civilians, mostly Tamils, in the last weeks of the civil war with Tamil separatists that ended in 2009 and have demanded reforms and redress.

"There is little evidence that perpetrators of war crimes committed by members of the Sri Lankan armed forces are being brought to justice," Ben Emmerson, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism, told reporters after concluding a four-day visit to Sri Lanka.

With progress having ground "to a virtual halt", Emmerson said Sri Lanka could face a range of measures, including a referral to the U.N. Security Council, if it fails to meet commitments it made under a 2015 U.N. resolution.

The United Nations gave Colombo a two-year extension in March to meet the commitments, which include establishing a judicial process involving foreign judges and prosecutors to investigate the alleged war crimes.

Colombo has previously promised an impartial investigation into human rights violations but President Maithripala Sirisena has since said he would not allow foreign judges take part in the investigation.

While Emmerson was in Sri Lanka, police arrested a top naval officer on suspicion of being involved in the abduction of 11 youths, mostly Tamils, in 2008/2009 who have never been found.

Emmerson also said he had come across prisoners who had been detained without trial for more than 12-years.

He criticized what he said was the "systemic use of torture" in Sri Lanka, saying it was "among the worst in the world", and blamed the situation mainly on Colombo's failure to repeal its Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) despite promises to do so.

The Sri Lankan government said it needed more time to tackle the abuses cited by Emmerson.

"He can't dictate like this, we can't make laws immediately. They have to go through parliament ... There is a process. He must understand what democracy is," Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapaksa told Reuters.

The Tamil separatists have also been accused of committing widespread abuses during the 26-year war, including using child soldiers and targeting civilians with suicide bombers.

Writing by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Gareth Jones

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UN raps Sri Lanka's slow progress on tackling war crimes - Reuters

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn was at the All-Star Game FanFest on Tuesday with his younger son when Cubs President Theo Epstein called.

Hahn, knowing the call was about the most anticipated trade in Chicago baseball this season, ducked behind an exhibit to talk specifics.

If only the exhibits had ears, the blockbuster trade might have been scooped before the Cubs and Sox issued the shocking announcements Thursday, though a pair of Reddit users apparently put the rumor out there Wednesday night. The Sox sent left-hander Jose Quintana to the Cubs for prospects Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease, Matt Rose and Bryant Flete.

The initiation of the deal came Sunday, when Hahn texted Epstein to let him know the negotiations for Quintana were likely to come to a head over the next few days. Hahn said he was direct that the deal had to begin with Jimenez and Cease.

"If they were interested, then now was the time to engage," Hahn said.

The pair reconnected Monday, spoke Tuesday about the Cubs' willingness to include their top two prospects and texted throughout the All-Star Game to figure out the final two pieces of the deal. It was finalized Wednesday night and announced Thursday morning.

It put to end seven months of speculation about where Quintana might end up.

Hahn said there were other deals for Quintana close in December, but they fell through. He also said the interest remained "very strong" through Wednesday, and the Sox were even in negotiations with a different team Saturday that prompted them to consider scratching Quintana for his final start before the All-Star break against the Rockies. But it wasn't close enough to pull him out.

Then the Cubs deal was finalized.

"In our opinion, in retrospect, this deal trumps anything we discussed last offseason," Hahn said.

Hahn said earlier this season that he was willing to do business with the Cubs, but speculation continued that he really wouldn't deal with the crosstown rival. Hahn said Thursday he found it "somewhat laughable" that the Sox would let such a deal lapse because of an interleague, intra-city rivalry.

"If we really felt motivated to take an inferior baseball deal, to not put this organization in the best possible spot to win multiple championships simply because of emotion, then we would be the wrong people running this club," Hahn said.

View original post here:

Phone call at All-Star fan convention helped Jose Quintana trade progress - Chicago Tribune

DOHA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson left Qatar on Thursday after a tour of Gulf Arab countries aimed at easing the worst regional dispute in years, saying he made proposals that would help in resolving the month-long crisis.

Tillerson met Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, to discuss Doha's feud with four Arab states that cut ties with Qatar on June 5 over allegations it funds extremist groups and is allying with their arch-foe Iran. Qatar denies this.

"Well I think it was helpful for me to be here and actually talk to them about a way forward, first to listen and get a sense of how serious the situation is, how emotional some of these issues are," Tillerson told reporters after leaving Doha.

"But we tabled some documents with both sides while we were here which lays out some ways that we might move this forward," he added.

Tillerson had been flying between the two sides and Kuwait, which has been acting as the mediator between the feuding Gulf countries, in the last two days in an effort to ease a crisis that put the whole region on edge.

On Thursday he flew back to Doha where he met Qatari rulers for the second time in two days. He also met with Kuwaiti and Saudi officials.

Tillerson said he was not a direct mediator but supporting the emir of Kuwait's role in building bridges to end the crisis.

"In my view there's a changed sense of willingness to at least be open to talking to one another and that was not the case before I came," he said.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain accused Qatar of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement that has been the greatest challenge to Arab autocrats. The Brotherhood was a major player in the Arab spring revolts across the Middle East and North Africa.

Qatar hosts some of the movement's prominent figures, including the spiritual leader and Egypt-born Yusuf al-Qaradawi.

"As to the Muslim Brotherhood, we've had sticking points with these parties ourselves, the U.S., in terms of how we view the Muslim Brotherhood's activities," Tillerson said. "And there's a difference of view among these parties over the Muslim Brotherhood, and again in many ways it's not much different than the differences we have."

On Wednesday, Tillerson left the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah after talks with ministers from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, the four countries which have imposed travel and commercial sanctions on Qatar.

He earlier signed a U.S.-Qatari accord on terrorism financing in an effort to help ease the crisis, but Qatar's opponents said it fell short of allaying their concerns.

"No wavering on the 13 demands" the headline of the Abu Dhabi government-linked al-Ittihad newspaper read on Thursday, referring to a list of demands the Arab states had put to Qatar.

Writing by Aziz El Yaakoubi and Sylvia Westall; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Leslie Adler

More here:

Tillerson leaves Gulf after crisis talks, no word on progress - Reuters

INDIANAPOLIS Jim Irsay is never one to hide feelings about his football team.

For the past couple of offseasons, Irsay has made it clear where improvements were needed.

Judging by Chris Ballards first offseason, one with a potential seven new defensive starters coming over to the Colts, the message has been heard by the teams new general manager.

I didnt think we would be this far along quite frankly, as we are. We have a ways to go. Im not saying we are there, but weve made a lot of progress.

Watching Ballards bevy of moves this offseason has given Irsay an extension of the January interview process.

Irsay wants fans to know their team is in good hands.

I just have to tell our fans that Chris Ballard is the real thing. Im telling you that theres many a team out there that wanted him. He wanted to be here.

Ballards presence in Indianapolis has led to some significant changes in personnel.

Like Irsay said, the total re-tooling of the Colts is not complete.

The faces have largely changed in Indianapolis, but the end goal for Irsay has not, and will not.

Ive said it before, we are into plural Lombardis. Thats what our goal is. Thats what we are pursuing. Ill be damned if we dont go out and get that. Ill be damned if we dont go out and get that.

The analysis from those producing content on Colts.com does not necessarily represent the thoughts of the Indianapolis Colts organization. Any conjecture, analysis or opinions formed by Colts.com content creators is not based on inside knowledge gained from team officials, players or staff.

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Jim Irsay Surprised By Progress Of 2017 Colts - Colts.com