COLU @ CONCEPTS

Doctor's arrest brings attention to US female circumcisions FBI agents leave the office of Dr. Fakhruddin Attar at the Burhani Clinic in Livonia, Mich. Friday, April 21, 2017, after completing a search for documents. The investigation is connected to the case of Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, of Northville, charged with performing genital mutilation on two young girls from Minnesota. (Clarence Tabb Jr. /Detroit News via AP) DETROIT (AP) — Zehra Patwa learned only a few years ago that during a family trip to India at age 7, she was circumcised, which is common for girls in parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Patwa, 46, doesn't remember undergoing the procedure, which is also called female genital mutilation or cutting and which has been condemned by the United Nations and outlawed in the U.S. But she doesn't want to. "I have no desire to get that memory back. ... Psychologically, it feels like a violation, even though I don't remember it," said Patwa, a...

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France's rejected mainstream unites for Macron over Le Pen PARIS (AP) — France's political mainstream, shut out of the presidency by an angry electorate, united on Monday to call on voters to back centrist Emmanuel Macron and reject Marine Le Pen's populist nationalism. Politicians on the moderate left and right, including the Socialist and Republicans party losers in Sunday's first-round vote, maneuvered to block Le Pen's path to power in the May 7 runoff. Voters narrowed the presidential field from 11 to two. France's presidential election is widely seen as a litmus test for the populist wave that last year prompted Britain to vote to leave the European Union and U.S. voters to elect Donald Trump president. The defeated far-left candidate, Jean-Luc Melenchon, pointedly refused to back Macron, and Le Pen's National Front is hoping to do the once unthinkable and peel away voters historically opposed to a party long tainted by racism and anti-Semi...

Nearing 100-day mark, Trump says milestone not 'meaningful' WASHINGTON (AP) — For nearly 100 days, President Donald Trump has rattled Washington and been chastened by its institutions. He's startled world leaders with his unpredictability and tough talk, but won their praise for a surprise strike on Syria. He's endured the steady drip of investigations and a seemingly endless churn of public personnel drama. "It's a different kind of a presidency," Trump said in an Oval Office interview with The Associated Press, an hour-long conversation as he approached Saturday's key presidential benchmark. Trump, who campaigned on a promise of instant disruption, indirectly acknowledged that change doesn't come quickly to Washington. He showed signs that he feels the weight of the office, discussing the "heart" required to do the job. Although he retained his signature bravado and a salesman's confidence in his upward trajectory, he ...

Army, DSS uncover arms, ammunition in Anambra communities, arrest suspects Abuja—Authorities of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army disclosed, yesterday, that a joint security cordon-and-search operation by its troops and Department of State Services, DSS, operatives had led to the discovery of stockpiled arms and ammunition in Anambra communities. The joint operation, which led to arrest of two suspects, followed the murder of three civilians recently as a result of land dispute between some communities in Anambra State.                                  The recovered arms and ammunition  A statement signed by Col Sagir Musa, Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, said: “Following intelligence report, operatives of the Department of State Services, Anambra State Command and a patrol team from 302 General Support Regiment, Onitsha, successfully carried out a cordon-and-search operation on...

As budget deadline looms, Trump pushes border wall funding WASHINGTON (AP) — With a budget deadline looming, President Donald Trump plans a whirlwind of activities seeking to highlight accomplishments while putting fresh pressure on congressional Democrats to pay for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, even if that pressure risks a possible government shutdown. Trump approaches the symbolic 100-day mark for his administration this coming week juggling a renewed health care push and his demands that a must-pass government funding bill should include money for the wall. In a tweet Sunday, Trump jabbed at Democrats, who vigorously oppose wall funding. "The Democrats don't want money from budget going to border wall despite the fact that it will stop drugs and very bad MS 13 gang members." He added: "Eventually, but at a later date so we can get started early, Mexico will be paying, in some form, for the badly needed border wall." The 100-day mark falls...

Jewish war veterans bemoan stalling of Israel's WWII museum LATRUN, Israel (AP) — Two years after Israel's prime minister vowed to complete the establishment of a museum honoring Jewish World War II veterans, funds have dried up and an abandoned construction site is all that remains of the grand project. The story of the 1.5 million Jews who fought the Nazis — and the 250,000 who died in battle — has long been lost in Israel amid the larger tragedy of the Holocaust and the Nazi genocide of Europe's Jews. The museum aims to rectify that oversight, but the remaining warriors, thought to number no more than 5,000, worry they won't live long enough to see it materialize and accuse the government of stalling because of petty political considerations. "The picture is not complete if we don't understand that together with the 6 million victims, the Jewish people also had a decisive role in defeating the Nazis," said Yitzhak Arad, a 90-year-old former ...

Arkansas prepares for 1st double execution in US since 2000 LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Two condemned Arkansas killers who admit they're guilty but fear their poor health could lead to extreme pain during lethal injections set for Monday might become the first inmates put to death in a double execution in the U.S. in more than 16 years. Jack Jones and Marcel Williams are set to die in what would be the second and third Arkansas inmates executed this month as part of the state's aggressive plan to execute several inmates before one of its lethal injection drugs expires. The state executed Ledell Lee last week in the state's first use of capital punishment since 2005. Gov. Asa Hutchinson originally scheduled four double executions over an 11-day period in April. The eight executions would have been the most by a state in such a compressed period since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The state said the executions needed to be carried ou...

South Korea, allies brace for North Korea follow-up act SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Fresh off an immense North Korean parade that revealed an arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles, rival South Korea and its allies are bracing for the possibility that Pyongyang's follow-up act will be even bigger. North Korea often marks significant dates by displaying military capability, and South Korean officials say there's a chance the country will conduct its sixth nuclear test or its maiden test launch of an ICBM around the founding anniversary of its military on Tuesday. Such moves could test the developing North Korea policies of President Donald Trump, who has reportedly settled on a strategy that emphasizes increasing pressure on Pyongyang with the help of China, North Korea's only major ally, instead of military options or trying to overthrow the North's government. Trump spoke by phone with both the Japanese and Chinese leaders Monday. China's offi...