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Five Simple Tips For A Comfortable Home

People are mostly oriented toward the modern designs for their homes, because of their easy maintenance. However, over time, such designs become empty and monotonous. If you ever found yourself on a vacation in more rural areas, you have probably experienced the magnificent spirit of a farmhouse design. And if it took your breath away, then there is no reason why you should not transform your house into this beautiful, calming design.

Embrace the Nature

What Hamptons is really all about is being surrounded by farms and beaches, and that is why you should focus on those elements on the inside. To manage this, you should add hints of nature wherever you can. Pick the furniture made out of wood, hang drapes with floral designs and bring your favorite flowers on the table. Such details will refresh your home, and turn it into a beautiful getaway-like heaven. Besides focusing on the nature inside, you should also surround your home with beautiful gardens, peaceful patio for a relaxing glass of wine and enough yard space for simply enjoying the life.

floral designs

Less is More

Living in a house may trigger your desires of filling it with a lot of things, which eventually leads to clutter. What Hamptons farmhouses actually teach us is that less is more, and that you should never settle for quantity over quality. Your home has to be airy and filled with quality and comfortable furniture. Nothing heavy and complicated should dominate the room. Instead, focus on lighter furniture made out of wood, whicker or even glass, and make each room spacious. Even though this design is not as monotonous as modern ones, it still focuses on simplicity with just a few fun details.

Rustic simplicity

Be Well-Equipped

Farmhouse doesn’t mean living in the 19th century, and you should never exclude the modern technology. Just like any 21st century home, your Hamptons farmhouse should have all the elements and devices you could need – especially in the kitchen. You are allowed to have all the latest appliances, such as a flat surface stove, microwave, dishwasher, small and big refrigeration products and everything else you believe is necessary. What you can do to blend them in this rural design is picking out the appropriate styles and colors. Add stone and marble surfaces in the kitchen, place some flowers and focus on beige and brown shades, and the technology will not be noticeable at all.

Well-Equipped kitchen

Importance of Landscaping

Just like the inside of your home, the entrance should be warm, welcoming and well-groomed. Since the farmhouse design is all about the nature, your driveway and front yard should be filled with beautiful flowers and greenery. Fix the driveway if needed, refresh the lawn, plant colorful flowers near the front door and fully embrace the luxury of nature. Not only that, but you should add a few antique lighting fixtures to complete the look and make your house shine. Good landscaping will only bring out the best  of this design and you will enjoy every minute spent in your garden or yard.Landscaing

Let there be Light

Each room should be showered with sunlight, so make sure your windows are big enough, and covered with light airy drapes. You can use white linen for the curtains and provide enough natural light and privacy at the same time. The same material can be used to cover your couch or bed, in lighter shades of blue or white, and contrast everything with dark wood floors or rugs. Incorporate light and soft colors in your home by painting the walls in warm colors, such as light yellow, beige or white. Use soft fabrics in beige or light gray for your furniture, and bring the earthy feeling into the home.

light and soft colors

If you are thinking about transforming your home into a romantic getaway see what this beautiful rural design has to offer. Follow these five simple tips and your home will be comfortable, airy and just perfect.

South Korean Court Holds Hearing on North Korean Mass Defection

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South Korea is holding a rare hearing into the detention of 12 North Koreans who defected to the South.

A group of human rights lawyers – Lawyers for a Democratic Society – who requested the hearing want to determine whether South Korea’s continuing detention of the women is legal.

The North Koreans, who worked as waitresses at a North Korea-run restaurant in China, arrived in Seoul in April.

Seoul said they came of their own free will, while Pyongyang maintains they were abducted.

The hearing will not be public and it is unclear if the women will be present to give their testimony, but it could set a precedent for how South Korea deals with the hundreds of defectors it receives every year.

The defectors have not spoken in public and the South Korean government has indicated that they don’t want to.North Korea restaurant workers defection

Some of their relatives and friends in North Korea have given interviews. According to the Associated Press which has a bureau in Pyongyang, Ri Gum-suk, the mother of one of the workers, So Kyong-ah, said all the parents were heartbroken.

Her husband, So Thae-song told AP: “They say our children defected, making their own free decision, but then why don’t they put our children in front of us parents? I want to hear the words from my lovely daughter. Why don’t they let her meet us? They say they defected willingly as a group. I can’t accept this”.

According to the AP, the interviews were unforced though the interviewees may well have been rehearsed by the authorities in Pyongyang.

The usual procedure when North Koreans defect to South Korea is for them to be accommodated in special centers.

They are questioned by the intelligence service to ascertain whether they are spies, and they are also given courses in how to negotiate life in South Korea – how to get a job, how to use a bank account, etc.

Many North Korean defectors find the transition hard. Suicide rates among defectors are higher than among the general population.

Lawyers for a Democratic Society says it “strives to further the development of democracy in Korea through litigation, research, and investigation”.

The group says it is “dedicated to increasing public awareness and collaborating in joint activities to protect basic human rights and attain social justice”.

Lawyers for a Democratic Society has more than 900 members who are prominent lawyers.

It is fair to say that they are not naturally sympathetic to the current right-of-centre government but their prime concern is the protection of democratic rights.

According to South Korean media, the group of lawyers obtained power-of-attorney from the defectors’ families in North Korea for the hearing.

About a thousand people defect every year from North Korea. The number has fallen in recent years as North Korea’s economy has improved.

Most get over the porous border with China and the indications are that the Chinese authorities are more lenient than they used to be.

These waitresses had visas to be in China because they were working openly there, so the usual argument of the Beijing authorities – that they should simply be returned to North Korea as illegal migrants – didn’t hold.

Orlando Attack: Senate Rejects Gun Control Bills

Plans to tighten gun controls in the US, including the restriction of weapons sales to people on terrorism watch lists have been rejected by the Senate.

Four proposals were brought before the Senate after 49 people were shot dead in Orlando attack on June 12.

However, Democratic and Republican senators voted along party lines, blocking each other’s bills.

Senators strongly disagreed about how to prevent more attacks happening in future.

Republican Senator John Cornyn said: “Our colleagues want to make this about gun control when what we should be making this about is the fight to eliminate the Islamic extremism that is the root cause for what happened in Orlando.

“My colleagues in many ways want to treat the symptoms without fighting the disease.”

Photo NBC News
Photo NBC News

Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski said: “Why is it we would go through such incredible scrutiny to board an airplane to protect me against terrorist, and yet we have no scrutiny of the people on the terrorist watch list to be able to buy a gun?”

Republicans and members of the National Rifle Association (NRA) complained that the bills put forward by the Democrats violated the constitutional right to bear arms. They are concerned that without enough “due process”, law-abiding Americans wrongly named on watch lists would be prevented from buying weapons.

Democrats said the Republican proposals were too weak.

Eight days before the Senate’s vote on June 20, Omar Mateen shot 49 people dead and injured many more in the worst mass shooting in recent US history.

Omar Mateen was a US citizen who had been known to the FBI since 2013 but was not on a terrorism watch list.

In the US, gun dealers are licensed by the federal government. People can be prevented from buying weapons if they have mental health problems or are guilty of serious crimes, but there is no specific prohibition for those on the terrorism watch list. There are currently about one million people on that list.

There are other ways to buy guns – at gun shows, or from a private vendor online – that do not require any background checks.

The Senate voted down legislation that would have closed a gun show loophole and expanded background checks to cover private sales.

It also rejected a bill to ban suspects on terrorism watch lists from buying guns, a bill (backed by the NRA) that would allow the US attorney general to delay a gun purchase by a known or suspected terrorist, but prosecutors would need to convince a judge of the would-be-buyer’s connection to terrorism within three days and a bill that would alert the FBI to terrorism suspects who have purchased a gun, without blocking the purchase outright.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3dQ-RK2GEE

Corey Lewandowski Out as Donald Trump’s Campaign Manager

Donald Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is to leave his job.

A campaign spokeswoman said Corey Lewandowski would no longer be working on it and said the team was grateful to him “for his hard work and dedication”.

The exact reason for Corey Lewandowski’s departure is not yet clear but sources close to Donald Trump have told media he was fired.

Corey Lewandowski oversaw Donald Trump’s unlikely triumph in the primary contests.

His departure comes as Donald Trump faces strong resistance from senior members of his own party over his strident tone and his hard-line immigration policy.

Among Donald Trump’s critics is Speaker of the House and top-ranked Republican Paul Ryan, who appeared to leave the door open to a possible revolt at next month’s convention.

When asked on June 19 about reports that party delegates may rebel against voting for Donald Trump at the convention, he said: “They write the rules, they make the decisions.”

Donald Trump was criticized for his reaction to the Orlando nightclub shooting in which 49 people were killed.Corey Lewandowski assaults Michelle Fields

Following the attack, Donald Trump repeated his pledge that the US should ban Muslims from entering the country.

Republicans also started to distance themselves from Donald Trump following his personal attacks against a Hispanic federal judge overseeing two lawsuits against him.

Donald Trump is likely to face Democrat Hillary Clinton in November’s election, and there were reports over the weekend that her campaign is way ahead in spending in the key swing states.

Corey Lewandowski has had a contentious relationship with the press. Earlier this year, he was charged with battery after allegedly yanking a female reporter out of Donald Trump’s way after a campaign event.

Donald Trump defended him throughout that incident, which concluded when the charges were dropped.

Following the news, one Trump campaign director, Michael Caputo, tweeted: “Ding dong the witch is dead.”

Corey Lewandowski did not get along with Donald Trump’s chief strategist Paul Manafort either, with sources telling the New York Times that he would try to block Manafort from hiring more campaign staff.

Donald Trump is suffering in political polls lately, with most voters viewing him as “strongly unfavorable”.

One of Donald Trump’s campaign staff member told NBC News that the campaign was not briefed on Corey Lewandowski’s firing and that right now there is “bedlam in the Trump campaign. No one knows what is happening”.

Solar Impulse Begins Atlantic Crossing

The Solar Impulse 2 is set to cross the Atlantic, one of the toughest stages of its attempt to fly around the globe using solar energy.

Pilot Bertrand Piccard will attempt to reach Seville in Spain after about 90-hour flight from New York.

It is the first ever attempt to cross the Atlantic in a purely solar-powered aircraft.

Bertrand Piccard takes short naps while the plane is in flight.Solar Impulse lands in Phoenix

The Atlantic crossing will be “the longest distance we have had to fly this year,” the Solar Impulse team said.

The flight was supposed to begin on June 19 but was delayed by bad weather.

Bertrand Piccard, a psychiatrist, is sharing the 22,000 mile round-the-world journey with Swiss entrepreneur Andre Borschberg.

The Solar Impulse, which has the wingspan of a Boeing 747, is covered in 17,000 photovoltaic cells to capture the sun’s rays.

The aircraft landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on June 11 after a five-hour flight from Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania.

The record attempt began on March 9, 2015, in Abu Dhabi, and has taken the aircraft across Asia and the Pacific to the US.

Italy Elections 2016: Virginia Raggi Becomes Rome’s First Female Mayor

Five Star Movement’s Virginia Raggi has won 67% of the Rome vote and becomes the Italian capital’s first female mayor.

The anti-establishment Five Star Movement has won key mayoral races in Rome and Turin, cementing its role in Italian politics.

Virginia Raggi’s victory is a blow to PM Matteo Renzi’s center-left Democratic Party (PD), which won in Milan and Bologna.

The results could give anti-globalization Five Star a platform for parliamentary elections due in 2018.

Five Star Movement is aiming to establish itself as the main opposition party ahead of the vote, and its success on June 19 extended well beyond Rome. It won in 19 out of 20 towns and cities in which its candidates stood for mayor.

Chiara Appendino, another female Five Star candidate, has won the race for mayor in Turin, defeating a Democratic Party candidate who had come out on top in the first round of voting two weeks ago.

“It was not a vote of protest, but of pride and change,” Chiara Appendino told supporters, promising to rebuilt trust between the people of Turin and its elected representatives.

Her win, although more narrow than in Rome, was a significant step for Five Star because Turin is a big power base for the PD as well as the headquarters of car-maker Fiat.

Chiara Appendino defeated Piero Fassino, who had been well ahead after the first round of voting.

Photo Twitter
Photo Twitter

In Rome, 37-year-old lawyer Virginia Raggi promised a new era for the city as she celebrated her victory over PD candidate Roberto Giachetti.

Virginia Raggia said: “I will be a mayor for all Romans. I will restore legality and transparency to the city’s institutions after 20 years of poor governance.”

She will find a city mired in debts of more than €13 billion ($15 billion) – twice its annual budget.

PD’s Ignazio Marino resigned as mayor of Rome in October over an expenses scandal. Rome has been without a mayor since then. Five Star’s rise in Rome was fuelled by a big scandal involving alleged Mafia influence at Rome city hall.

In Naples, Italy’s third city, former prosecutor Luigi de Magistris, a centrist, won a second term with two thirds of the vote.

June 19 results were bad news for PM Matteo Renzi, who has staked his political future on an October referendum in which he wants Italians to back far-reaching constitutional reforms.

The plan is to end Italy’s tradition of “revolving-door” governments and inject stability after years of party infighting and legislative logjams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aApJ-QMqCgg

Anton Yelchin Dead: Star Trek Actor Killed By His Own Car

Star Trek actorr Anton Yelchin has been killed by his own car at his home in Los Angeles, police say.

The Russian-born actor played Pavel Chekov in the new Star Trek movies.

The car struck Anton Yelchin after rolling backwards down the steep drive at his Studio City home, pinning him against a brick postbox pillar and a security fence.

Anton Yelchin, 27, died shortly after 01:00 on June 19.

Photo Twitter
Photo Twitter

The actor also appeared in such films as Like Crazy (2011) and Green Room (2015).

Anton Yelchin played Pavel Chekov, the role originally made famous by Walter Koenig (now 79), in Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013).

A third movie with Anton Yelchin in the role, Star Trek Beyond, is due for release next month.

News of Anton Yelchin’s death led Twitter trends in Los Angeles and beyond on June 19.

Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock in the series, wrote on Instagram: “our dear friend. our comrade. our anton.

“One of the most open and intellectually curious people i have ever had the pleasure to know. so enormously talented and generous of heart. wise beyond his years. and gone before his time. all love and strength to his family at this impossible time of grief.”

Chelsea Clinton Baby: Former First Daughter Welcomes Second Child With Marc Mezvinsky

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Chelsea Clinton gave birth to her second child with husband Marc Mezvinsky, a baby boy named Aidan.

The former First Daughter tweeted: “Marc and I are overwhelmed with gratitude and love as we celebrate the birth of our son, Aidan Clinton Mezvinsky.”

Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky already have a daughter, Charlotte, born in 2014.

Aidan Clinton Mezvinsky is the second grandchild for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.Chelsea Clinton and husband Marc Mezvinsky are about to swap their $4 million pad for a new $10.5 million luxury four-bedroom apartment in the centre of Manhattan

Hillary Clinton describes herself as “wife, mom, grandma” in her own twitter bio.

Chelsea Clinton has frequently supported her mother at political events, most recently appearing alongside her in Brooklyn, New York, on June 7, when she secured the Democratic nomination.

Hillary Clinton’s opponent, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, also welcomed a new grandson recently.

Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka had a third child, Theodore, in March.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5CUWHZKAZs

4 Ways Social Media Is Changing The News

News, Newspaper, Globe, Read, Paper, Inform, Policy

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Only a few years ago we were alerted to breaking news through news flashes. Viewing would be interrupted to provide audiences with information on important issues and incidents. Nowadays, anyone with an internet connection can access news before it hits the airwaves. We no longer have to wait for news organizations to put together a broadcast. This has revolutionized the media and the news as we know it.

  1. Faster

News provided by reputable organizations has to be fact checked before distribution. This is true, whichever distribution channel is used. However, sending textual updates via social media is quicker than putting together a broadcast. Where facts have not been verified, news outlets tend to lead with ‘unconfirmed reports of’ or similar. So we’re still receiving information much quicker.

Video content can be compiled and distributed immediately via sites like YouTube or Facebook. There is now no need to wait to schedule footage with TV stations. This is useful for news items, features, and political debates, etc.

  1. Citizen Reporting

Members of the public have no rules imposed regarding fact checking. Therefore, individuals can report news as it is occurring. This also makes for a different kind of reporting. It makes it more personal and more immediate. We receive reports from victims, victims’ friends, and witnesses. This provides a rich source of information that would never have been possible previously. Hashtags aid this process and readers can pull together information from a wide range of viewpoints.

Of course, on the flip side, there is often no way of verifying information from individuals. Because they are not bound by strict codes, information can be less reliable. Some have been criticized for sharing too much online.

  1. Wider Coverage

One of the biggest changes to news is that it is now available to a much wider audience. Once it is posted online, it remains there until deleted. This provides people with longer to access and share it. We can now view footage from around the world, which wouldn’t have been possible previously.

smartphone, technology, mockup

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Debates from organizations such as Foundation for Defense of Democracies can be shared worldwide. Anyone with an internet connection can access them. Viewers around the world can then comment and enter the discussion. This information is invaluable in dealing with global issues and threats such as terrorism.

  1. Photographs And Footage

Cell phones, tablets, and other portable devices have also changed the face of news. Because social media apps are available on these devices, posts can be uploaded immediately. Most people with a smartphone have instant access to a camera and video camera. This allows them to take photos and video footage of events as they are occurring. This provides vital information to law enforcement agencies, media outlets, and the general viewer. In some cases, this can provide urgent data that could potentially save lives. And again, from a content point of view, it is a rich, and personal source of information.

It has been argued that the advent of social media has degraded the quality of news. Because anyone is now a potential reporter, quality is sometimes compromised. However, most viewers can assess information and its validity. And therefore, personal reports and content only add to and enrich the news.

Are We Safe? Key Facts About The Iran Nuclear Deal People Won’t Tell You

The threat of terrorism and nuclear attacks are a concern for most of us. If you did a survey now, most people would probably rate terrorism as one of their biggest fears. None of us want to live in a world where we feel unsafe. But if you watch the news on a daily basis, you’ll find that it offers little reassurance. In 2015, a deal was reached with Iran, but what does it really mean and are we safe?

President Barack Obama delivering an address : Free Stock Photo

Image from http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/14713

About the nuclear program deal

In 2015, a deal to shut down Iran’s nuclear program for the next decade was hailed as one of the most important political feats of recent times. But what does it mean, and what are the politicians hiding?

The US could have pushed for more

This is an opinion held widely by people in the know. Among them is Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The fact that both President Obama and Javad Zarif, the foreign minister in Iran, celebrated the deal supports this notion. To reach a satisfactory deal, one party would have to leave the table feeling a little disappointed. As a dominant world force, the US could have gone further and pinned more stringent restrictions on Iran. It may have taken a little more negotiation, but the thought is that more could have been achieved.

Was the time frame right?

When world leaders emerged from prolonged, intensive negotiations, a 5-15 year time frame seemed reasonable. But there is concern about the long-term intentions of the Iranian nuclear program. For now, production may be limited, but what happens when this agreed monitoring period elapses? Is there a possibility that Iran could already be plotting years ahead?

How watertight is the deal?

If you delve deeper into the small print of the nuclear deal, you may stumble across some alarming sentences. There is an agreement that sanctions can be reimposed in the event of Iran violating the terms. However, if you read on, you’ll discover that Iran can walk away from the deal if sanctions are reimposed. A written statement also suggests that EU countries and the US are not permitted to disturb economic agreements with Iran.

US-European relations

There’s a worry that the nuclear deal could cause ructions between the USA and European nations. There may be disagreements about the terms of the deal and wider implications for concerns such as terrorism. Disagreements are likely to weaken the allied group and strengthen Iran’s position.

Iran Talks Vienna 14 July 2015 (19067069963).jpg

Image credit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Comprehensive_Plan_of_Action

When you read news reports, it’s easy to glance at the main points and think no more about it. There’s also the issue of rhetoric. Even if you only read a couple of newspapers, you’re likely to get a different version of events. Often, you read what you want to read and ignore everything else. On the surface, a deal may appear to be a fantastic step forward. But it’s always important to read the small print. Often, it’s impossible to get the full story from a short report about such a complex and convoluted deal.

Iran, Flag, National Flag, Nation, Country, Ensign

Image taken from https://pixabay.com/en/iran-flag-national-flag-nation-162321/

 

It’s Time To Talk About Medical Malpractice

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Believe it or not, medical malpractice is a more common occurrence than you would think. The fact that someone in a medical position could make a mistake isn’t nice to think about, but it’s something that does happen.

Source for picture

On average, three billion is spent every year on medical malpractice payouts. That’s a huge amount of money, isn’t it? That’s just how much is spent in the US, let alone across the rest of the world. Then there’s the fact that medical malpractice is, in fact, one of the most common causes of death. In the US alone, medical malpractice is the third most common cause of death. That’s a high statistic for something that in most cases is avoidable. Of course, there are times when it’s no avoidable. It’s important to remember that accidents can happen.

A lot of people prefer not to talk about medical malpractice, but it’s something that needs to be talked about. Believe it or not, it can happen to anyone. And when it does, medical malpractice can have life-changing results. Whether a medical procedure has gone wrong or the incorrect drugs were prescribed, medical negligence can have a big impact.

What are the results of medical malpractice?

Being a victim of a medical mistake can have a range of side effects, depending on what actually went wrong.

For example, there are cases where the wrong limb was amputated, changing the person’s quality of life forever. There are cases where drugs that have been linked to cancer have lead to a patient suffering from this disease. Then there are birth defects caused by a pregnant woman being described the wrong medication. You get the idea; medical malpractice can be any medical procedure or drug that is accidently done or prescribed and has adverse results.

What can you do about it?

If you’ve been the victim of medical malpractice, the first thing you need is proof. This is important as without proof, you have no evidence that the medical professional who treated you is behind what’s happened.

Once you’ve got proof, the next step is to get legal help. Ideally, you want to opt for specialist help. For example, if you have been prescribed a drug that’s caused damage to your body or your unborn child, you need to consult a drug injury lawyer. It’s always best to hire a specialist in their field, as this makes it more likely that you’ll win your case.

Is there a way to prevent it in the first place?

Whether or not we are able to prevent medical malpractice is somewhat of a gray area. While being proactive about your care, researching medicines, and choosing good facilities can help. It’s important to understand that accidents can still happen. No matter what, you’re not ever in complete control of medical treatment. Accidents can happen. However, they are rare.

Medical malpractice is a rare but growing issue, especially in western medicine. Each year, the amount of cases of medical accidents and injuries rise, with more and more people being seriously affected.

Meat Loaf Collapses During Edmonton Show

Meat Loaf has collapsed on stage during a concert in Edmonton, Canada.

Video footage from June 16 concert in Edmonton shows Meat Loaf, whose real name is Marvin Lee Aday, falling on stage during his performance.

Edmonton police said they had responded to a medical call, CBC reported.

Photo Twitter
Photo Twitter

Meat Loaf, 68, is one of the most successful recording artists of all time with hits including Bat Out of Hell and I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That).

Fans said they initially believed Meat Loaf’s collapse could have been a planned part of his performance, the Edmonton Journal newspaper reported.

The Northern Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton was cleared shortly after Meat Loaf collapsed and ambulances were seen outside the venue, the newspaper said.

The singer canceled shows in Moose Jaw and Calgary earlier in the week because of illness, CBC said.

Meat Loaf’s album Bat Out of Hell sold more than 43 million copies worldwide and continues to sell an estimated 200,000 copies annually nearly 40 years after it was released.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdofzw82rFY

MS804 Crash: EgyptAir Black Box Recovered From Mediterranean

Egyptian investigators have recovered the cockpit voice recorder from the EgyptAir plane that crashed on May 19 into the Mediterranean Sea.

The MS804 “black box” was damaged and had to be pulled out in several stages but its memory unit was intact, they said.

A search vessel with an underwater robot has been scouring the crash site and has sent back images of wreckage.

Flight MS804 from Paris to Cairo crashed on May 19, killing all 66 people on board.

It is not clear yet what caused the aircraft to go down.

In a statement, investigators said: “The vessel’s equipment was able to salvage the part [of the recorder] that contains the memory unit, which is considered the most important part of the recording device.”

Photo Twitter
Photo Twitter

The voice recorder will now be taken to the Egyptian city of Alexandria to be studied.

Airbus previously said that finding the black boxes was crucial to understanding what happened when radar lost track of MS804.

Electronic messages sent by the plane revealed that smoke detectors went off in the toilet and the aircraft’s electrics, minutes before the radar signal was lost.

A terror attack has not been ruled out but no extremist group has claimed to have downed the plane.

Analysts say human or technical error is also a possibility.

The crew on board do not appear to have sent a distress call.

The cockpit voice recorder should allow investigators to hear what the pilot and co-pilot were saying to each other, plus any alarms in the background.

If the flight data recorder is recovered, it should show what the plane’s computers were recording at the time.

Experts have warned that signals emitted by the data recorder are expected to expire by June 24.

The area in which flight MS804 crashed is one of the deepest in the Mediterranean – more than 10,000ft deep in some parts.

Days after the search began, debris and body parts were found to the east of the plane’s last known location. Egypt’s military released images of debris including a lifejacket, pieces of fabric and metal fragments.

On June 15, Egyptian investigators said the deep sea search vessel John Lethbridge had found wreckage of the fuselage of the plane in “several main locations” and had taken the first images of it.

A map of the distribution of the wreckage is being drawn up so a recovery operation can begin.

The European Space Agency (ESA) said one of its satellites detected what appeared to be a one mile-long oil slick in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in the same area the plane disappeared.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLJR3UAENlo

The Goldilocks Quandary: Finding the Chair that is Just Right

Most of us are willing to sacrifice comfort for fashion; if wearing tight, pinching shoes means you’re going to look good, you’re willing to wear them. We do this in our interior decorating too.

 

Admit it: at some point in your life, you’ve considered protecting your couch in a plastic cover because you wanted the fabric to remain pristine. You may even have gone as far as calling the plastic covers “retro.” They’re not—plastic couch covers are a major interior design don’t. Then there is the chair you won’t let any of your family members sit on; it’s reserved for guests only.

 

You don’t have to forego the small incidentals in life to have the classy living room style you want. If you’re looking for the perfect functional chair to complete your living room ensemble, just follow this how-to guide!

 

The Inception of the Perfect Chair

There are hundreds of chair styles in interior design. Five of the most notable include:

 

  • Model 3107, Designer: Arne Jacobsen
  • Louis Ghost chair, Designer: Philippe Starck
  • Eames Lounge chair, Designer(s): Charles and Ray Eames
  • Omstak chair, Designer(s): OMK Associates
  • Barcelona chair, Designer: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

    Photo Flickr Tilton Lane
    Photo Flickr Tilton Lane

 

Furniture and product designers like Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen and Mies van der Rohe made it their personal mission to design furniture pieces that were stylish, ergonomic, functional and timeless. In designing what they deemed the perfect chair, these designers paid a great amount of attention to the materials, form and balance of the chair. Using materials like plastic, steel, leather, fabric and wood with compression-molding technology, the affordable, luxury-quality chair was born.

 

Finding Your Perfect Chair

As a homeowner, you won’t want to have to replace your furniture every few years simply because it’s gone out of style. Replacing furniture with every new trend is costly and wasteful. This is why it’s important to get your aesthetic right the first time.

 

It’s helpful to start with looking at the architectural elements found in the living room of your home. Does your living room have ornately detailed crown molding and plush carpeting? Maybe your living room has whitened pine floors and an angled modern fire place. Do you think the same chair could be placed in these two living rooms? In an ideal world, yes, the same chair would work in both living spaces. In the real world however, that doesn’t work.

 

Like their dwellers, every living room has its own flair. The carpeting, shape and even the window treatments of your living space will all contribute to the look of the chair. And while the chair should reflect the overall aesthetic of your home, it should also be comfortable.

 

Fortunately with the wide selection of modern chairs available on the internet, we can get a good idea of what we like and don’t like as far as available styles. But style is just one element. It should also be comfortable, something you want to sit in every day.

 

Finding the Perfect Chair

There are three steps to take in selecting a chair, and are as follows:

 

  1. Take a seat in the chair. Move around in it, lean back; test out how flexible the chair is. Does the chair move with your body, or is it stiff and rigid? If you can’t sit comfortably in the chair in the first five minutes, then it’s not a good chair for you.

 

  1. Examine the materials the chair is made of. There are plenty of great chairs made out of recyclable materials, and while sustainability isn’t important to everyone, it’s comforting on a whole other level to know your prized chair was reborn from a past life.

 

  1. Determine if you need armrests. Some of us like to prop up our elbows when we’re reading a book or looking through a magazine. If you don’t typically use armrests, then you probably won’t need it for your living room chair.

 

Who knew a chair was so important to the living space? Now go out there and find the chair that’s just right for you.

Euro 2016: Russian Soccer Fans Leader Alexander Shprygin Expelled After Marseille Violence

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France has expelled far-right leader of the Russian soccer supporters’ association Alexander Shprygin following violence at the England-Russia Euro 2016 match in Marseille.

Alexander Shprygin is among 20 Russian fans being deported.

They were detained on June 14 while traveling from Marseille to Lille to watch Russia vs. Slovakia.

Three other detained Russian fans have been jailed for up to two years over the violence in Marseille.

They are also banned from re-entering France for two years. The men received 12, 18 and 24 months in prison.

The arrests have angered Moscow, which summoned the French ambassador to protest.Alexander Shprygin expelled from Euro 2016

A Russian foreign ministry statement warned against “further stoking of anti-Russian sentiments”.

Deputy foreign minister Arkady Dvorkovich was quoted by the Tass news agency as saying blacklists of troublemakers would be drawn up before the 2018 World Cup, which Russia is hosting.

Arkady Dvorkovich said those accused of violence in France may yet face trial in Russia.

“We need to figure out who did what,” he said.

Alexander Shprygin’s All-Russia Supporters Union is backed by the Kremlin. He is reported to hold far-right views and has been photographed giving a Nazi salute.

A statement from the union said Alexander Shprygin and the other 19 fans had been transferred to a deportation centre from which they will be expelled in the next five days.

It said the French authorities were taking the measures for “security reasons”.

Russia and England fans clashed before and after the two teams played on Saturday.

French police blamed 150 “well-trained” Russian hooligans for the violence.

Afterwards, Russia was hit with a fine and a suspended disqualification, meaning the team will be thrown out of the Euro tournament if their fans cause more trouble inside stadiums.

Five England fans were jailed for throwing bottles at police and a sixth jailed in connection with the violence.

DARE TO LOOK BOLD WITH MICRO THONGS

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Fashion is ever evolving at a faster and faster pace. What people used to wear 50 years ago is completely different from what people wear now. With global warming and climate changes, the earth has become hotter. This means a general change from heavier, warmer clothing to lighter, cooler clothing.

It is not unusual to find both women and men dressed in minimal clothing, especially in hot climates. This tendency is seen in women more than in men. Bikinis are not a new thing; they have been there for some time now. The fashion revolution means that after bikinis, something else had to arrive, or rather compete with bikini underwear. A new piece of lingerie was born called the “micro thong” that highlights the feminine body while covering the little but the private areas.

Micro thongs can be worn as seduction wear in the bedroom. They add to the sensual experience and can ignite fireworks. With the help of a micro thong, a woman can make a bold impression with minimal effort.  If you surprise your sweetheart on his birthday or on your anniversary by adorning yourself with a micro thong, I promise you, you won’t regret it.

It’s the power of thong that makes the women wearing them sexy and irresistible. Micro thongs are made in contemporary fashion designs that make a woman’s body appear more charming, attractive and just plain sexy. They can be found in sizes extra small up through plus sizes. In some cases they are one-size-fits most, with long tie side ribbons, or adjustable sliders on the side. This feature makes them easy to wear. And easy to remove when needed!

MT
The evolution of the micro thong is an interesting one. At first, they thongs were seen as too daring and revealing, but with time became in vogue. They became overwhelmingly popular in the 1990s. They offer sexiness without shyness. It is common to view music videos, especially Hip-hop music videos, showing women wearing thongs.

Micro thongs and made in many colors and designs. Thongs are meant to bring out the element of free spirit by awakening the female libido. They are meant for adventurous women who want to conquer the unconquered. They bring out her flirtatious, playful and fun loving side. It must be taken into account that there is something for everyone –  a particular style thong for a particular woman. One can be deceived by pictures of models online or in magazines and want the same exact same styles. Modifications can however be made to meet the customers’ needs and tastes.

I was inspired to design micro thongs after watching a sensual movie that had models showcasing their toned bodies in these styles. We manufacture ours using the soft, sheer fabrics and stitching with classy finishing. They are of ingenious designer quality and quite unique, coupled with sheer elegance. Among the fabrics used are silk, rayon, cotton, and nylon/spandex. They make the women feel stunning, and will turn heads wherever they go.

Any woman’s desire is to look good for her man. Men like to be treated like kings. And women love to be treated like princesses. To bring passion into a relationship, especially in the bedroom, a spark is needed. It is usually women who buy their own sexy lingerie. It would be a welcome surprise if a man were to buy his better half a sexy micro thong. Such a intimate gift promotes romantic feelings and makes a woman feel adored.

Lane Graves: Body of Toddler Seized by Alligator Recovered in Orlando

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The body of a young boy seized by an alligator at Walt Disney World in Florida has been recovered.

Divers found a body “intact” that they believe to be the two-year-old, who was dragged into the water on June 14 in front of his family.

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said the missing boy’s name was Lane Graves from Nebraska.

After the attack, five alligators were seized and killed in an attempt to find Lane Graves’ remains.Lane Graves Walt Disney World alligator

The body found in the water has yet to be formally identified but police are confident it is Lane Graves’.

On June 15, police said there was “no question” the boy was dead.

Some 50 people were using sonar equipment to search a system of lakes and ponds linked by canals to the Seven Seas Lagoon where the boy was attacked while wading in shallow water.

Lane Graves’ family was relaxing near the shore of the lagoon when the incident happened.

There is a “no swimming” sign on the man-made lagoon but although the boy was on the edge of the water, there was no indication he was swimming.

Lane Graves’ father sustained minor lacerations to his arm in the attempt to retrieve his child.

No signs around the lagoon warn visitors about the presence of alligators, a situation which a Disney spokesperson told Reuters news agency would be reviewed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQmA_drp0Fo

MS804 Crash: EgyptAir Wreckage Found In Mediterranean Sea

Egyptian investigators have announced that wreckage of the EgyptAir flight that went missing over the Mediterranean on May 19 has been found.

A statement said “several main locations of the wreckage” had been identified.

It added that a deep sea search vessel had also sent back the first images of the wreckage.

Photo Wikipedia
Photo Wikipedia

There were 66 people on board flight MS804 when it crashed while flying from Paris to Cairo.

The Airbus A320 plane vanished from Greek and Egyptian radar screens, apparently without having sent a distress call.

The Egyptian investigation committee said that investigators on board the John Lethbridge search vessel, which has been contracted by the Egyptian government, would now draw up a map of the wreckage distribution.

Search teams said signals from one of the “black box” flight recorders had been detected.

Signals emitted by the recorders are expected to expire by 24 June, experts have warned.

The cause of the crash remains a mystery.

A terror attack has not been ruled out but no extremist group has claimed the downing of the plane.

Analysts say human or technical error is also a possibility. Electronic messages sent by the plane revealed that smoke detectors went off in the toilet and the aircraft’s electrics, minutes before the plane’s signal was lost.

According to Greek investigators, MS804 turned 90 degrees left and then 360 degrees to the right, dropping from 37,000ft to 15,000ft and then 10,000ft before it was lost from radar.

Finding the Right E-Cigarette as a First Time Vaper

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Once you’ve decided to give vaping a try, you’re faced with a decision — which e-cigarette should you use? The question can feel overwhelming as products pour into the marketplace in response to the growing popularity of vaping. Before you start shopping, you need to know the basics. What kinds of e-cigarettes are available? Which accessories are right for you? And what should you know about vaping before you jump in?

The first step in choosing an e-cigarette is deciding which style you want. Models basically break down into three types:

Photo Flickr Joseph Morris
Photo Flickr Joseph Morris

Cigalike

Simply put, these e-cigs are designed to look like traditional cigarettes. The yellow/orange section, which looks like the filter of a cigarette, contains a disposable e-liquid cartridge and atomizer to heat the liquid into vapor. (One e-liquid cartridge typically translates to one-and-a-half to two packs of traditional cigarettes.) The longer white section is the rechargeable battery.

These e-cigs are popular with new vapers. They’re small, lightweight, low-maintenance, and easy to use. Just pop a cartridge onto a charged battery, and you’re good to go. However, they have a relatively short battery life, and offer little in the way of flexibility or variety.

Mid-Size E-Go

These cigar-sized models are a step up from cigalike-style e-cigs. The battery is larger, for more vapor and longer life. The atomizer and the e-liquid tank are separate, so you can change or replace them separately. The tank is refillable, so you’re not limited to pre-filled cartridges.

Mods/Advanced Personal Vaporizers (APVs)

These advanced e-cigarette models are for experienced vapers. They offer the most power and flexibility, but require a detailed understanding of the vaping process and component parts.

Options and Accessories

No matter which style you choose, you can then choose from a variety of e-liquids. One of the biggest benefits of vaping over traditional cigarettes is that you can select an e-liquid with your desired level of nicotine. The wide range of e-liquids on the market makes it easy to experiment and find your favorite.

Expert vapers can customize almost any aspect of the experience. Popular vaping mods include:

  • Variable voltage and/or wattage, which allow you to control vapor volume and temperature.
  • Atomizer elements, such as coils, wicks, and cartomizers.
  • Batteries of different types and sizes.
  • Tanks of different sizes, materials, and styles.

Factors to Consider

This is one of the most exciting periods in the long history of vaping, all the way from the first e-cigarette in 1963 to the Vaporcade Jupiter smartphone which incorporates a vaporizer. Choosing the right e-cigarette among the varieties available today comes down to how you intend to use it. Think about how much and how often you plan to vape. Will you mostly be at home, or out with friends? How much are you willing to spend? Are you someone who values convenience, or do you like to tinker with things and make them your own? Give some thought to your lifestyle and personality, as the answers to these questions can help guide you as you shop for your first e-cig.

Vaping is generally less expensive, more convenient, and healthier than smoking cigarettes. And as you can see, there’s no end to how creative you can be in designing your own perfect vape.

5 Startup Problems Video Conferencing Can Fix

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Building a business from the ground up is remarkable. It’s not just about reaching for your goals and sticking to a vision. Rather, it’s about knowing how much hard work you still need to do and what problems you must learn to deal with to keep the company going. That’s how growth happens. Growing pains, though, can hurt a young company if they aren’t managed properly. Not sure how to keep the company growing without spreading your resources thin? Here some some of the most common challenges startups get that you can easily solve with video conferencing:

 

Lack of Talents

Plenty of companies in the U.S. have trouble sourcing for the right talents. U.S. News says America’s lack of STEM students spring from the fact that the education system focuses more on basic proficiency instead of training students for academic excellence. That leaves a lot of low-ability talents with nowhere to go, contributing to the country’s unemployment rate, while job vacancies for high-skill positions in many industries remain. One way companies are circumventing the gap is by widening their talent pool through online video solutions. By interviewing and getting talents from all over the globe, Human Resource teams can now have their pick of qualified applicants without needing to shortchange their hiring goals and standards.

Go Big with Videoconferencing
Go Big with Videoconferencing

 

Managing Offsite Teams

The apps also make it easy for you to handle all your remote teams. You can set up your management team anywhere in the world—so long as there’s steady, reliable internet to back you up—and hire the rest of the team from all over. Daily face to face meetings or huddle sessions can happen online. If you need to beef everyone up on new security protocols, have a town hall meeting or do a quick one on one with a staff member, you can easily do all these things via handy communication tools. Wherever your team is, you won’t have a problem getting and staying in touch with them.

 

Stress for Your IT

Enterprise video for IT from Blue Jeans is one of the best things to happen for your IT team. Remember the days when IT experts had to deal with everything—from keeping your communication channels running without a hitch to setting up a phone patch for you? These days, using online conferencing for your business doesn’t mean you have to use up all your IT resources on installing and managing the system. With easy to use solutions, you can even download, install and use the app yourself, all with little to no assistance from your resident experts. That means you can deploy video at your company, all without having to add more work and stress for them. This gives your startup incredible advantage, allowing you to do so much work for less.

 

Lack of Trust and Teamwork

It makes for an excellent way for your teams to meet and see each other regularly. That helps tremendously. After all, everybody knows people work better when it’s with someone they trust. And they trust people they see more than they do a name off their email contact list. A likely reason for that seems rooted in how we communicate with each other. Susanne Jones, University of Minnesota’s associate professor of communication studies says that about 65 to 75 percent of what we say is non-verbal in nature, Small Business reports. So there is a huge loss of non-verbal messages and cues when people resort to emails, chats or calls. That’s what the system’s face to face contact brings back to the table. With online interactions, you help foster camaraderie and teamwork among your staff, essential to a lot of companies and exceedingly vital for startups. Because startups start small, there’s a need to rely on a core group. If yours is strong, then you have a much better chance at lasting long enough in the business to gain success. Helping trust develop among your staff allows you to move a few steps closer to your goal.

 

Storage Problems

Companies of yore used to rely on expensive servers to store and manage data. These can come at a hefty price tag. Hardware upgrades, too, could cost an arm and a leg. That posed a lot of problems for many startups, at least until online storage was invented. With cloud applications, it’s easier to store and keep your data protected. There’s no need for fancy hardware or costly upgrades, and there’s less stuff to worry about. With an efficient solution, rendered at incredibly low cost, you can keep your startup’s operating expenses low, allowing you to leverage your capital in a better way.

 

Conclusion

Startups have a ton of challenges to overcome, but these video conferencing apps help you deal with those challenges in the best way possible: one that’s efficient and cost-effective. It’s a great start.

Elections 2016: Hillary Clinton Meets Bernie Sanders After Winning in DC

Hillary Clinton met her defeated rival Bernie Sanders after winning the final primary in Washington DC.

In statements, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate and her rival said they had discussed the campaign, unifying the party and the “dangerous threat” posed by Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Bernie Sanders vowed to do all he could to prevent Donald Trump from being elected, but has not endorsed Hillary Clinton.

Photo USA Today
Photo USA Today

Hillary Clinton got nearly 80% of the vote in June 14 Washington DC primary.

During their meeting, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders discussed common goals, including raising wages for working families and reducing the cost of university education.

The Vermont senator had earlier said the meeting would enable him to determine Hillary Clinton’s commitment to the issues he has campaigned on.

Bernie Sanders – who won primaries in 22 states – has said he will urge the party to be more inclusive of young people and working-class voters at the Democratic convention in July.

Last week, Bernie Sanders met President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden, who both later endorsed Hillary Clinton.

Barack Obama Slams Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban After Orlando Shooting

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President Barack Obama has attacked the Muslim ban proposed by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump saying that is “not the America we want”.

Treating Muslim-Americans differently will only make the US less safe by increasing division between the West and the Muslim world, Barack Obama said.

On June 13, Donald Trump extended his ban plan to people from all countries with a terror history against the US.

The New York billionaire said the deadly Orlando nightclub shootings justified such action.

Forty-nine people were killed when Omar Mateen, a US national with Afghan parents, opened fire in a gay club on June 12.Donald Trump criticized by Barack Obama

Donald Trump said his proposal could be implemented through unilateral executive action, given the president’s power to “suspend entry into the country of any class of persons that the president deems detrimental to the interests or security of the United States”.

On June 14, at the US Treasury in Washington, a visibly angry Barack Obama launched his strongest assault yet on Donald Trump who is expected to be confirmed as the Republican nominee next month.

Barack Obama said the US had been founded on freedom of religion and having a “religious test” would be against the US Constitution.

The president also noted that recent terror attacks in the US had been carried out by people born in the US.

Omar Mateen, 29, was born in the same New York neighborhood as Donald Trump.

Barack Obama also urged the US to reinstate the ban on assault weapons.

He dismissed Donald Trump’s suggestion that he resign because he refuses to use the word “radical Islamic terrorism”.

“If we fall into the trap of painting all Muslims with a broad brush and imply that we are at war with an entire religion, then we are doing the terrorists’ work for them,” he said.

PresidentObama will visit the scene of the carnage in Orlando on June 16.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCylwJx87zg

Led Zeppelin Copyright Trial: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Appear In Court

Led Zeppelin’s guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant have appeared in court to deny borrowing from another song for their 1971 hit Stairway To Heaven.

Jimmy Page, 72, and Robert Plant, 67, are expected to give evidence at the civil case in Los Angeles.

Led zeppelin is accused of lifting the song’s opening notes from Taurus, a 1967 track by the band Spirit.

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant are being sued by a trust acting for a founding member of Spirit who died in 1997.Stairway to Heaven copyright trial

The case began with the jury being played various performances of both songs, including part of Led Zeppelin’s recording of Stairway to Heaven.

In his opening statement, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Francis Malofiy, said the case could be summed up in six words, “give credit where credit is due”.

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were both “incredible performers, incredible musicians but they covered other people’s music and tried to make it their own,” he alleged.

Led Zeppelin’s lawyer Robert Anderson insisted that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant “created Stairway to Heaven independently without resort to Taurus or without copying anything in Taurus”.

There was no proof that they had even heard Taurus until decades after creating Stairway to Heaven, said Robert Anderson.

Robert Anderson also claimed that the part of the song at issue – a sequence of notes in the opening bars – was a “descending chromatic line…something that appears in all kinds of songs”.

Such a “commonplace” musical device which “goes back centuries,” was, Robert Anderson claimed, not protected by copyright which in any case, he argued, was not actually owned by the plaintiff.

Noor Salman: Orlando Attacker’s Wife May Face Charges

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Noor Zahi Salman, wife of Orlando gunman Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub, could face charges in connection with the attack, according to reports.

Prosecutors have convened a grand jury to investigate Noor Salman, sources quoted by Fox News and Reuters say.

Noor Salman is reported to have told police she tried to talk her husband out of attacking the Pulse nightclub.

Orlando attack was the worst mass shooting in recent US history.

Fifty-three people were wounded and six remain in a critical condition.

Prosecutors quoted by Fox News said they were seeking to charge Noor Salman as an accessory to 49 counts of murder and 53 counts of attempted murder, as well as with failure to warn authorities about the impending attack.

It was possible that Omar Mateen had called his wife from inside the club while the killings were taking place, Fox quoted a source as saying.

Although Noor Salman has been questioned since the attack on June 12, she has not been arrested.

Senator Angus King, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee which received a briefing on the investigation, told CNN that “it appears she had some knowledge of what was going on”.

He said: “She definitely is, I guess you would say, a person of interest right now and appears to be co-operating and can provide us with some important information.”

On June 14, media reported that Noor Salman had gone with Omar Mateen to buy ammunition and had also driven him to the Pulse nightclub on a previous occasion because he had wanted to survey it.Omar Mateen wife Noor Salman

However, Noor Salman said she had tried to talk her husband out of carrying out the attack, sources quoted by NBC News said.

Omar Mateen’s father, Seddique Mateen, said on June 14 that Noor Salman – his son’s second wife – had returned to the couple’s flat on June 13 to pick up some clothes. He said she and the couple’s young son were still in Florida but declined to say where.

Omar Mateen, 29, who was killed when police stormed the club, pledged allegiance to ISIS during the attack, authorities say.

The FBI is investigating reports that Omar Mateen made several visits to the Pulse nightclub and made contact with other men on gay dating apps.

On June 14, President Barack Obama said Mateen appeared to have been “an angry, disturbed, unstable young man who became radicalized”.

The president also attacked a proposed ban on Muslims traveling to America from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump as “not the America we want”.

Investigators have said there is no evidence that Omar Mateen had been in contact with any outside groups such as ISIS.

Omar Mateen was a US citizen, born in New York to Afghan immigrant parents.

Barack Obama will travel to the scene of the attack in Orlando on June 16.

Are they on the job? Why employers need employee monitoring

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Employee monitoring is nothing new. For as long as there have been employers and employees, the latter will always want to know the productivity of the former. You can’t just assume that the employee will do a good a good job. You need to make sure that they deliver as required. And if that means following them into the workplace to see if they really are on the job, then go ahead and do it.

The fact that social media has taken the world by storm with everyone trying to spend as much time as possible on favorite platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram gives you even more reason to monitor each employee.

Here are five business benefits of monitoring employees at work;

productivity

Image Courtesy of pixabay.com

Studies show that employees are likely to be more productive if they know that whatever work they are doing is being monitored. The employees will feel an added pressure to perform to higher standards. On the contrary, if they know that they are not being monitored, then employees wouldn’t really mind if they’re delivering on their duties. “After all, no one cares,” they would say.

  • Assess employee output

While employee tracking has primarily been used to ensure that employees are putting in the required level of effort on the job, this same tool can be used to measure employee output. The reason you need to measure employee output is because every employer should always strive to have employees who deliver results. It’s no longer just about hard work but the fruits that it bears. Measuring employee output will help you retain your best employees while reassigning and possibly retraining the others.

  • Managers can deliver the right feedback

Employee tracking tools, such as timesheet software which are currently very popular, will help your managers provide the right feedback when employees ask about their performance. This is particularly important if you work with remote employees. You are probably aware that feedback plays a major role in boosting employee morale. Yet, remote employees cite lack of feedback as their number one pain. With the right employee tracking tool, you can promptly recognize your employees whenever they do a good job.

  • Manage project timelines

All businesses work for clients, not the employer. Without the clients, the business wouldn’t even exist. For this reason, every business should prioritize client needs. If a client wants a project delivered within three days, then you need to pull every string to ensure that you meet that deadline. Since employees will be doing the job, you need to manage their time to ensure that the rate at which they’re working would allow you to deliver the project as scheduled.

  • Documenting bad behavior

Employee tracking tools will also help you document bad behavior among your employees.

free-time

Image Courtesy of www.thegrindstone.com

The workplace is normally full of accusations. When someone does something that isn’t acceptable, they may distance themselves from the matter even if they are the culprits. For instance, an employee may clearly harass a co-worker but later deny any wrongdoing. When you have employee tracking software in place, you can monitor every email each employee sends which makes it easier to catch wrongdoers.

  • Catch policy violators

Finally, employee tracking will also allow you to find out who breaks company policies and how often. Those caught breaking the rules can then be disciplined accordingly. If you discover that a particular employee is always breaking company rules, then you may even consider dispensing with them.

In a nutshell, you have every reason to invest in employee tracking tools. If you are not using them already, get one today.