Dutch model is American miner on Trump jobs campaign poster

DutchNews, July 22, 2016

The miner shown on one of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign posters is actually a Dutch model, website Buzzfeed has pointed out. 

The poster, with the text ‘a working America is a winning America, features Trump in a baseball hat alongside a tough looking miner. 

However, far from being an American worker the miner is a Dutch model named Jan Jonkhout who was photographed by Haarlem photographer Ysbrand Cosijn. 

The photo is one of a series featuring Jonkhout and available via stock photo agency Shutterstock.

Op campagneposter Trump blijkt Nederlander Jan Jonker afgebeeld als mijnwerker, foto van Ysbrand Cosijn uit Haarlem. pic.twitter.com/grYNXlOrfT

— Herman Stam (@HermanStam) July 21, 2016

Related Article: 

Trump’s “Working America” Ad Features A Dutch Stock Photo Model

EU critical of Turkey's post-coup crackdown

European leaders have reacted with alarm to Turkey's purges following the weekend's failed coup attempt. European leaders caution that the rule of law must be respected as the number detained exceeds 9,000.

Deutsche Welle, 18 Jul 2016

European leaders said Monday that Turkey's widespread crackdowns on police, the judiciary and the military are increasingly alarming and threaten stability and EU-Turkey relations.

"We are the ones saying today rule of law has to be protected in the country," the EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in Brussels. "There is no excuse for any steps that take the country away from that."

We call for an end to use of violence. Societal tensions can only be addressed through democratic processes #Turkey https://t.co/TUfQxCiTUn

— Federica Mogherini (@FedericaMog) July 16, 2016

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has doubled down with vows that the "cleansing" of state institutions will continue as around 9,000 people were arrested, and the military announced the formal end of the failed coup.

Alarm in Germany and beyond

In Germany, Norbert Röttgen, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) member and chair of the foreign relations committee of the Bundestag, says there is evidence that Erdogan is using the coup to make a power play to further exclude oppositional political forces.

"This is to say that President Erdogan would use this coup to consolidate his power mostly by eliminating constraints and the opposition," Röttgen said in an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt.

Thousands of military officers and
rank-and-file soldiers whose loyalties are
 under suspicion are being rounded up
across Turkey

Senior figures within the center-right CDU - the party of Chancellor Angela Merkel - have become increasingly skeptical of Erdogan and question Ankara's reliability as a diplomatic and security partner. Rumblings are also being heard within the CDU's coalition partner, the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD).

Erdogan's talk of restoring capital punishment is also alarming diplomats in other European capitals.

"In a democracy, you cannot ignore the demands of people," Erdogan said Sunday evening, citing chants from supporters calling for the death penalty, which was formally abolished in 2004.

That would be unacceptable, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, a frequent Erdogan critic in Europe, told Austrian newspaper Kurier.

"The introduction of the death penalty would of course be absolutely unacceptable," Kurz said in remarks published Monday. "There must be no arbitrary purges, no criminal sanctions outside the framework of the rule of law and the justice system."

Restoring the death penalty would almost certainly scuttle Turkey's halting bid for EU accession, which was reactivated as part of a comprehensive deal for Turkey to contain mass migration from Syria, Iraq and elsewhere to the EU.

Settling old scores?

Arrests in Cankiri

Turkey has blamed the attempted coup on loyalists tied to US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile since 1999. Ankara has repeated demands that the US extradite Gulen but to date has not offered formal evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

Some EU leaders are worried that Turkey could be using the unrest to settle old scores against Gulen, a former ally turned rival of Erdogan.

Johannes Hahn, the EU commissioner dealing with Turkey's membership bid, said that given the wide-ranging types of people under suspicion, a comprehensive dossier could only have been drawn up in advance.

"It looks at least as if something has been prepared," Hahn said Monday. "The lists are available, which indicates it was prepared and to be used at a certain stage."

Arrests in Izmir

Meanwhile in Istanbul, police commandos raided the prestigious air force military academy in search of new suspects, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

Authorities have also detained General Mehmet Disli, who conducted the operation to capture Turkey's chief of staff Hulusi Akar during the stand-off.

Reports had said that a total of 36 generals had been detained so far. The private Turkish Dogan news agency reported Monday that 10 of them had now been remanded in custody by the courts.

The Turkish president has urged citizens to remain on the streets even after the defeat of the coup, in what the authorities describe as a "vigil" for democracy but witnesses describe as gatherings mainly made up of supporters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) co-founded by Erdogan.

jar/kms (AFP, Reuters, dpa)

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Kate Bush fans re-enact Wuthering Heights in Australia

Yahoo – AFP, July 16, 2016

Kate Bush fans gather to rehearse a dance before performing during a
celebration to mark 'The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever', in Melbourne, on
July 16, 2016 (AFP Photo/Paul Crock)

Melbourne (AFP) - Thousands of Kate Bush fans put on their best billowy red dresses and danced en masse in Melbourne Saturday to one of the singer's most iconic songs Wuthering Heights.

They donned matching red stockings and black wigs to mark The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever -- a re-enactment of the British star's classic 1978 debut music video in which she pirouettes and cartwheels in a misty field.

Bush's distinctive voice and performance-art–style videos gained a global cult following and in 2013 theatre group Shambush gathered nearly 300 Kate Bushes to recreate her iconic frolic in the English city of Brighton.

This inspired the Melbourne event, which has taken on a life of its own with similar dances also planned Saturday in 21 cities around the world, coordinator Douglas Leitch said, including Berlin, Oslo, Montreal, Tel Aviv, Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

"The whole idea really is just to get toregether and have fun and do our unique interpretation of the dance," the 44-year-old, who had an overwhelming response after advertising the day on Facebook, told AFP.

Kate Bush fans rehearse a dance before performing during a celebration to 

mark 'The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever', in Melbourne, on July 16, 2016

(AFP Photo/Paul Crock)

He said at least 800 dresses had been bought for the occasion, with dance classes booked out across Melbourne as people prepared. Organisers on Saturday estimated around 2,000 people, young and old, took part.

"It is such a unique song from a unique artist. It resonates with people and that's why it's lasted," added Leitch.

"I don't know if Kate knows it's happening, because she's a bit of a recluse, but I'm sure she might."

Thousands of Kate Bush fans re-enact 'Wuthering Heights' in Melbourne, Australia https://t.co/nYgSVPNt5h pic.twitter.com/yy88BfuS0g

— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 16, 2016

Related Article:

US invites Turkey to present any Gulen coup evidence

Yahoo – AFP, Dave Clark, July 16, 2016

A Turkish tank drives along the streets of Ankara as people protest against
military coup (AFP Photo/Adem Altan)

Luxembourg (AFP) - Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday the United States will help Turkey investigate a failed coup and invited Ankara to share any evidence it has against US-based opposition figure Fethullah Gulen.

Speaking in Luxembourg, Kerry said Washington had not yet received a formal extradition request for the expatriate cleric, but added: "We fully anticipate that there will be questions raised about Mr Gulen."

Gulen, a reclusive Islamic preacher with a worldwide following who is regularly accused of leading a behind the scenes role in Turkish politics, lives in a small town in the Pocono Mountains of the US state of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania-based preacher 

Fethullah Gulen has firmly denied 

involvement in a military coup in 

Turkey (AFP Photo/Selahattin Sevi)

He has been accused by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of being behind Thursday's bloody coup attempt, although he himself has denied any role and condemned the military uprising "in the strongest terms."

Kerry who spoke late Friday to his Turkish opposite number Mevlut Cavusoglu by telephone, said: "We haven't received any request with respect to Mr Gulen.

"And obviously we invited the government of Turkey, as we always do, to present us with any legitimate evidence that withstands scrutiny and the United States will accept that and look at it and make judgements about it appropriately."

Standing alongside Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn outside the country's foreign ministry, Kerry told reporters: "I'm confident that there will be some discussion about that."

Gulen, 75, was once a close Erdogan ally but the two fell out in recent years as Turkey's leader became suspicious of Gulen's movement, Hizmet, and its powerful presence in Turkish society, including the media, police and judiciary.

The preacher moved to the United States in 1999 and has since led a secluded life in Pennsylvania, declining interviews and rarely making public appearances. He has been charged with treason in his native country.

Deal with coup plotters

Speaking more broadly about the situation in Turkey, Kerry said he understood that a measure of calm had returned after the dramatic events and that all US embassy personnel had been accounted for.

"The United without any hesitation squarely and unequivocally stands for democratic leadership, for respect for a democratically elected leader ... and we stand by the government of Turkey," Kerry said.

Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan react to a Turkish military

 tank in front of the Turkish Parliament July 15, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. 

(Kutluhan Cucel/Getty Images)

Washington's top diplomat said that the embassy was seeking to confirm that no US citizens travelling in Turkey had been harmed, and expressed US condolences to the relatives of the more than 250 Turks estimated to have died.

He expressed Washington's hope "that in the immediate hours things will remain calm, that there will be a constitutional process and a legal process that will deal with coup plotters."

He said that, so far, the crisis in Turkey had not affected the country's cooperation with the rest of the NATO alliance nor its role as part of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State in neighboring Turkey.

"I'm sure that people will wonder about allegations of who may have instigated this and where the support came from," Kerry said, in a nod to the accusations swirling around Gulen and his alleged supporters in the Turkish military.

"The United States will obviously be supportive of any legitimate investigative efforts and under due process and within the law we will be completely supportive of efforts to assist the government of Turkey if they so request."

People react after taking over military position on the Bosphorus bridge in
Istanbul, on July 16, 2016 (AFP Photo/Bulent Kilic)

Related Articles:

Turkey regains control after deadly anti-Erdogan coup bid

Israeli,Turkish leaders laud deal to restore ties

Turkey mends fences with former foes Israel and Russia

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim delivers a speech during a press
conference after a Turkish-Israeli meeting, at the Cankaya Palace in Ankara,
on June 27, 2016 (AFP Photo/Adem Altan)

US probe of Saudi ties to 9/11 inconclusive

Yahoo – AFP, July 15, 2016

An American flag at the 9/11 Memorial site in New York City
(AFP Photo/Andrew Burton)

Washington (AFP) - The United States probed links between the government of Saudi Arabia and the 9/11 attacks, finding multiple suspicions but no proven ties, documents declassified Friday showed.

Part of a Congressional report that had been kept under wraps for more than a decade showed US intelligence believed that Saudi officials may have had multiple contacts with some of the 9/11 hijackers.

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens.

The findings however show no smoking gun for Saudi involvement, but rather an inability to "identify definitively" Saudi links to attacks on US soil and global terror.

"While in the United States, some of the 9/11 hijackers were in contact with, and received support or assistance from, individuals who may be connected to the Saudi government," the declassified document said.

One individual on the US East Coast, believed to be from the Saudi interior ministry, raised suspicions when appearing to fake a seizure during FBI questioning about his links to a hijacker.

He was later released from hospital and managed to flee the country before he could be questioned again.

The government has released a once-classified chapter of a congressional report

 about the 9/!11 attacks that questions whether Saudi nationals who helped the 

hijackers knew what they were planning.

Intelligence also turned up suggestions that Osama bin Laden's half-brother worked at the Saudi embassy in Washington and was associated with a friend to Egyptian hijack leader Mohammed Atta.

In California, a suspected Saudi intelligence operative was believed to have provided "substantial assistance" to two other hijackers.

The phone book of an Al-Qaeda operative captured in Pakistan meanwhile pointed to US contacts, notably a company which managed a Colorado property of the then Saudi ambassador.

'Unacceptable' intel gaps

The year-long Congressional investigation also expressed anger about gaps in US intelligence about Saudi Arabia's possible links to terror, deeming them "unacceptable" given the "magnitude and immediacy of the potential risk to US national security."

Former president George W. Bush had ordered that part of the report be classified.

Bush's administration had cited the need to protect the methods and identities of US intelligence sources.

But there was also concern that the report could damage relations with an important Middle Eastern ally and oil exporter.

President Barack Obama had decided to declassify the so-called "28 pages."

The revelations are likely to prompt a fresh round of handwringing about Washington's close ties with Riyadh and Saudi Arabia's role in fostering violent extremism.

Saudi Ambassador to the United States Abdullah Al-Saud welcomed the release of the report.

He said it had "confirmed that neither the Saudi government, nor senior Saudi officials, nor any person acting on behalf of the Saudi government provided any support or encouragement for these attacks."

Barroso must not divulge secrets to Goldman Sachs: EU

Yahoo – AFP, July 12, 2016

Barroso must not divulge secrets to Goldman Sachs: EU

Brussels (AFP) - The European Commission said Monday its former head Jose Manuel Barroso will be bound by EU rules of professional secrecy at his controversial new job for US investment bank Goldman Sachs.

The bank has hired Barroso, who headed the executive of the 28-nation European Union from 2004 until 2014, as an advisor on the British public's June 23 vote to leave the EU, drawing fire from leftist politicians in Europe.

"All former members of the (commission) will remain bound by the obligations of integrity, discretion and professional secrecy" by EU law, Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told a press conference in Brussels.

He cited EU laws under which former commission members can lose their rights to pensions or benefits if they fail to respect strict conflict-of-interest rules even after leaving their jobs.

Barroso did not have to inform his successor Jean-Claude Juncker about the job because he had been through an 18-month "cooling off" period since leaving the EU and it was safe to assume he no longer had access to privileged information or influence, Schinas said.

"President Juncker was informed after the decision was announced. There was no formal obligation for notification," Schinas said, adding that it was via phone call from Barroso.

"But once the transition is made from the public to the private sector there are very precise articles of the treaty which must be respected," he added.

"And we have a duty as a commission to ensure these articles are respected," said Schinas.

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MEPs call on Juncker to withhold Barroso's pension following Goldman Sachs appointment - New

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Beijing's South China Sea claims invalid: tribunal

Yahoo – AFP, July 13, 2016

Beijing raises rhetoric ahead of South China Sea ruling

Beijing (AFP) - Beijing's claims to a vast swathe of the South China Sea are invalid, an international tribunal ruled Tuesday, dealing a devastating diplomatic blow to its ambitions in one of the world's most important flashpoints.

China, which boycotted the proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, rejected the ruling, calling it "null and void".

But analysts said it was a "huge win" for the Philippines, which brought the case.

The resource-rich, strategically vital waters of the South China Sea are disputed between the Asian giant -- which claims almost all of them on the basis of a "nine-dash line" that first appeared on Chinese maps in the 1940s -- and several other countries including the Philippines.

The row has embroiled the United States, which has deployed aircraft carriers and a host of other vessels to assert freedom of navigation in waters through which one-third of the global oil trade passes.

China says that its fishermen have visited the area for centuries, but the PCA tribunal said that under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Beijing had not had exclusive control of it.

Any historic rights were "extinguished" when it signed up to UNCLOS, it said, and there was "no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the 'nine-dash line'," it said.

Crucially, it ruled that none of the Spratlys, a chain of outcrops in the south of the sea, were "islands" under the meaning of UNCLOS, meaning that whoever had sovereignty over them -- an issue it did not address -- they were not entitled to 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of their own.

'Branded as an outlaw'

Some sea areas were therefore definitely in the Philippines' EEZ, it said, as they were "not overlapped by any possible entitlement of China".

China had violated the Philippines' sovereign rights in its EEZ and the artificial islands Beijing has been furiously building in recent years -- reshaping facts in the water in an effort to bolster its claim -- have inflicted severe environmental damage, it added.

The damning decision was "as unfavourable to China as it can be", said Yanmei Xie, China analyst for the International Crisis Group.

The award by the five-member panel -- chaired by a Ghanaian -- "overwhelmingly favours the Philippines -- a huge win," said M. Taylor Fravel of MIT.

Manila welcomed the decision but Beijing reacted furiously, saying it "neither accepts nor recognises" the ruling.

"The award is null and void and has no binding force," China's foreign ministry said on its website, reiterating its territorial claims.

The official news agency Xinhua cited President Xi Jinping as saying the islands have been Chinese territory since ancient times, and Beijing will not accept any action based on the decision.

China has consistently said the tribunal does not have jurisdiction on the issue -- declaring the support of multiple countries for its stance, many of them poor but with significant trading relationships with it -- and Xinhua reported the ruling under the headline: "Law-abusing tribunal issues ill-founded award".

In Washington, the State Department said the ruling was an "important contribution" to resolving regional disputes and should be seen as "final and legally binding".

China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and has been seeking a greater role on the global diplomatic stage, and will not want to be seen as a violator of international law.

But how the decision could be enforced remains open to question. Richard Heydarian, a political analyst at De La Salle University in Manila, told AFP: "China has been branded as an outlaw in unequivocal terms. US, Japan and other major powers should now focus on enforcing this binding verdict if China fails to comply."

In the short term, the decision was likely to escalate the "war of words" but would not immediately change the geopolitical dynamics in the sea, said Xie of the International Crisis Group.

"We?re going to see a continuation of the chest thumping we've seen, especially from the China side."

'Tough reaction'

Beijing has held naval drills between the Paracels and the southern Chinese island of Hainan in recent days, while US Pacific Command said on Twitter that the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan had launched flight operations to support "security, stability" in the South China Sea.

Bonnie Glaser of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies told AFP: "I expect a very tough reaction from China since it has lost on almost every point."

China could choose to withdraw from UNCLOS, or begin building on Scarborough Shoal, which it seized from the Philippines in 2012 -- which Washington would view as a provocation.

Beijing could also declare an air defence identification zone over the South China Sea, claiming the right to interrogate aircraft passing through the airspace, or try to remove a ship grounded by Manila on Second Thomas Shoal for use as a base.

Xu Tiebing, international relations professor at Communication University of China, told AFP that Chinese would see the PCA decision as evidence of international opposition to their country.

"These international organisations were not absolutely neutral, and in fact they are still subject to the manipulation and influence of big powers," he said.

The Philippines, which had lodged the suit in 2013, welcomed the "milestone decision", and foreign secretary Perfecto Yasay said: "We call on all those concerned to exercise restraint and sobriety."

Nationalist demonstrations are not rare in China, sometimes apparently with the tacit backing of authorities, and the Philippine embassy in Beijing has warned its citizens to beware of personal "threats".

Chinese police sealed off the street where the mission stands.

pic.twitter.com/0Wk3BFnZkD

— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 12, 2016

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Philippines willing to share South China Sea: Manila

ASEAN, China pledge early conclusion of COC on sea disputes

China and Vietnam to Address Maritime Disputes Without ‘Megaphone Diplomacy’: Xinhua

China calls for peaceful settlement of maritime disputes

High-profile US police killings of black suspects

Yahoo – AFP, July 7, 2016

A person reads the personal messages written on the wall next to the convenience
 store where Alton Sterling was shot and killed, July 6, 2016 in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana (AFP Photo/Mark Wallheiser)

Washington (AFP) - The United States was coming to terms on Thursday with the latest controversial police shootings of black men.

Wednesday's shooting in the state of Minnesota of 32-year-old Philando Castile, came as civil rights investigators probed a similar incident a day earlier in Louisiana in which 37-year-old father of five Alton Sterling was shot to death by police.

Here are a selection of recent killings of US black citizens that have caused outrage -- and sometimes violent protests -- across America.

Mario Woods

On December 2, 2015, in San Francisco, the 26-year-old is shot by police who say he would not hand over a knife.

The scene is filmed on smartphones. At least six police agents take aim at him while he is huddled against a wall.

Freddie Gray

A mural honoring Freddie Gray near 

where he was arrested, on June 23, 

2016 in Baltimore, Maryland (AFP

Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

On April 12, 2015 Baltimore police officers arrest Freddie Gray, 25. He is handcuffed and eventually placed on his stomach in a police van, unsecured by a seatbelt.

While in transit, Gray asks for medical help but none is given. The police van is diverted to assist in an unrelated case, at which point Gray is found unresponsive.

Despite this, an ambulance is not called until after the police van reaches a police station and Gray is found to be in cardiac arrest, having suffered serious spinal injuries in the van.

Gray dies on April 19, leading to rioting in Baltimore and protests in other US cities. State prosecutor Marilyn Mosby calls the arrest illegal. Six officers are later charged over the incident. One trial ends in a hung jury, and two others in acquittal. The fourth trial started on Thursday.

Walter Scott

On April 4, 2015 in the state of South Carolina, a video shows police officer Michael Slager gunning down a fleeing black man, 50-year-old Walter Scott, after a traffic stop.

The video seems to show Slager in an altercation with Scott. Slager then draws his gun and shoot seven to eight shots in Scott's back as he flees. Slager was charged with murder in June 2015. His trial is due to open on October 31.

A memorial site setup near where Walter Scott was killed on April 11, 2015

in North Charleston, South Carolina (AFP Photo/Joe Raedle)

Tamir Rice

On November 22, 2014, in Cleveland, Ohio, a video emerges of US police officers shooting dead Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black boy carrying a replica gun, just seconds after confronting him.

Surveillance video showed Rice was killed within seconds of the patrol car arriving on the scene in a park.

In December 2015, the US authorities announce that the police officers concerned will not be prosecuted.

Akai Gurley

On November 20, 2014 an unarmed black man, Akai Gurley, 28, is shot by an Asian-American officer who opens fire in a dimly lit staircase at a Brooklyn, New York apartment block.

On the day of his funeral on December 7, New Yorkers take to the streets to denounce the spate of police killings. The police officer, Peter Liang, is in April 2016 given five years probation.

Laquan McDonald

On October 20, 2014 in Chicago a white police officer pumps 16 bullets into the 17-year-old adolescent, who was not showing threatening behavior.

Images of the incident shown in November 2015 during the indictment for premeditated murder of the police officer shock the country, right up to President Barack Obama.

The shockwaves lead to the chief of police in Chicago being fired and a federal probe which embarrasses Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama's former chief of staff.

Michael Brown

On August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, a white police officer shoots dead 18-year-old Brown, unleashing sometimes violent protests.

A subsequent decision not to indict the officer, Darren Wilson, prompts riots in Ferguson and raises tensions from New York to Seattle, with thousands taking to the streets.

In March 2015, the US Justice Department publishes a scathing report into the shooting, condemning Ferguson's city hall, police department and municipal court for targeting the city's African American majority. A black man subsequently takes over as head of Ferguson's police.

Eric Garner

On July 17, 2014, African American Eric Garner, 43, dies after being held in a police chokehold while he is being arrested for selling individual cigarettes illegally in New York.

In an amateur video which is viewed around the world, as police wrestle him to the ground, Garner is heard repeating: "I can't breathe."

A coroner declares the death a homicide. But a grand jury opts not to charge the white officer involved, sparking demonstrations in several cities.

Trayvon Martin

The 17-year-old unarmed adolescent is killed on February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, who was acquitted in 2013 by a jury which found that he had acted in self defence.

Map of the United States locating recent controversial police shootings of black men https://t.co/ICLQz9ifHr pic.twitter.com/gIVLdXh9Kd

— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 8, 2016

Trudeau becomes first Canadian PM to march in Toronto Pride parade

Yahoo – AFP, July 4, 2016

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (middle, holding flag) participates at the
 annual Pride Festival parade, July 3, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (AFP Photo/
Ian Willms)

Montreal (AFP) - Justin Trudeau made history Sunday by marching with tens of thousands of people in Toronto's Gay Pride parade, becoming the country's first sitting prime minister to participate.

Thunderous applause greeted Trudeau as he paraded down a main Toronto artery, waving a Canadian maple-leaf flag bordered with a rainbow.

The youthful politician, whose popularity is soaring, donned a salmon-colored, button-down shirt and white jeans, taking selfies and shaking hands with those lining the parade route.

The colorful procession observed a minute of silence to pay respect to the victims of the June 12 nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida that left 49 dead.

The city tightened security, but kept the enhanced measures discreet to maintain a festive spirit. Toronto police have not released an official attendance count, but organizers had expected one million attendees.

Trudeau also walked in the annual parade last year as head of the Liberal Party, then the opposition leader facing former president Stephen Harper's conservative government.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne -- Canada's first openly gay head of a province -- and Toronto Mayor John Tory marched alongside Trudeau.

The three politicians attended an outdoor worship service Sunday morning in the city's gay district.

California adopts sweeping gun control measures

Yahoo – AFP, July 1, 2016

Children hold up signs that reads "Disarm Hate" at a press conference calling
on Congress to hold a vote on new gun control measures on June 29, 2016 in
San Francisco, California (AFP Photo/Andrew Burton)

Los Angeles (AFP) - California's governor approved a series of gun control measures Friday, including new restrictions on assault weapons, in the wake of recent mass shootings across the country that have triggered outrage.

Governor Jerry Brown signed into law six bills that were part of a package put before him by state lawmakers, further boosting firearms restrictions in one of the US states with the most stringent gun control laws.

"My goal in signing these bills is to enhance public safety by tightening our existing laws in a responsible and focused manner, while protecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners," Brown said in a statement.

The bills approved by the governor include a ban on assault weapons with magazines that can quickly be detached, new restrictions on loaning firearms and new punishment for falsely reporting guns as stolen.

One measure also requires an ID and background check for someone seeking to purchase ammunition.

The governor vetoed five other bills that had been approved by lawmakers, saying some were similar to an initiative that will be put to California voters during general elections in November and others did not add to existing legislation.

The package of bills -- denounced by gun-rights advocacy groups as "Gunpocalyse" -- was adopted on Thursday by state lawmakers who were spurred by recent mass shootings that have roiled the country, including the June 12 assault in Florida that killed 49 people and last year's terror attack in San Bernardino in which 14 people died.

Among the bills vetoed by the governor was one that would have required that stolen or lost guns be reported to authorities within five days and another limiting the purchase of a rifle or shotgun to one a month.

Democrats who control the legislature in California had voted in favour of the bills while most Republicans had voted against.

Gun control is a hot-button issue in the United States and Democratic lawmakers in Washington last month staged a sit-in in the lower house of congress to demand a vote on gun control legislation.

The protest came in the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando, the deadliest in modern US history.