“In the last couple of weeks, I have found myself the focus of an avalanche of negative publicity,” Mr Wynn said in a statement on Tuesday.
“As I have reflected upon the environment this has created, one in which a rush to judgment takes precedence over everything else, including the facts, I have reached the conclusion I cannot continue to be effective in my current roles,” he said.
Wynn Resorts owns and operates several casino complexes including Wynn Macau, Wynn and Encore Las Vegas, and Wynn Palace Cotai.
Wynn Macau’s shares were suspended from trading in Hong Kong following the firm’s announcement on Tuesday.
Who is Steve Wynn?
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionSteve Wynn and second wife, Andrea Hissom, at President Trump’s inauguration
The son of an East Coast bingo parlour operator, he is now worth an estimated $3.5bn, according to Forbes magazine
He made his fortune in the construction and operation of major Las Vegas casinos, including the Golden Nugget, The Mirage, Treasure Island and the Bellagio, all of which he later sold to MGM Grand Inc
He has been locked in legal battles with his ex-wife, Elaine Wynn, for more than seven years. The pair co-founded Wynn Resorts
He famously accidentally elbowed a hole in the middle of his Picasso painting when preparing to sell it for a record $139m (£74m) in 2006
Image copyrightAFPImage captionThe murder had lead to an outpouring of solidarity and grief
A court in Pakistan is set to deliver its verdict in the case of the fatal lynching of student Mashal Khan.
Mr Khan was dragged out of his university accommodation in north-west Pakistan in April 2017 by a crowd of hundreds of his fellow students who accused him of blasphemy.
He was badly beaten before being shot and his body mutilated.
Fifty-seven people have been on trial in connection with his murder, including three alleged ringleaders.
The trials have been taking place inside Haripur Central Jail, where the suspects are being held, for safety reasons.
Security has been tightened around the jail ahead of the verdict, with hundreds of police deployed and roads closed.
Image captionThere is a high police presence around the jail over concerns about possible protests by hardliners
Blasphemy is an incendiary social and political issue in religiously conservative Pakistan.
The 25-year-old was studying mass communications at Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He described himself as a humanist, and had plastered his room with posters of his political heroes – like Che Guevara and Karl Marx – and slogans celebrating free speech on the walls.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionMashal Khan’s room at the university
Reports around the time of his death said he had often been accused of holding “anti-Islamic” views and that the day before he died, he had been engaged in a heated debate about religion.
He was also known for his criticism of the university’s leadership.
What happened on the day of the murder?
On 13 April, 2017 rumours spread that Mr Khan had posted blasphemous material on line, a crime punishable by death in Pakistan.
Hundreds of students and some university staff members marched through the campus searching for him.
They broke into his room and dragged him out. Widely circulated mobile phone footage showed him being beaten, stamped on, shot and burned. The crowd continued to attack his body after his death.
Media captionMashal Khan was killed by a mob of fellow students on campus
During their investigation, police determined there was no evidence Mr Khan had committed blasphemy. His killing was ruled to have been premeditated murder.
Some of the 50 people who gave testimonies to the court said he had angered the university administration by criticising their management in the weeks before his death.
Among the accused are:
Imran Ali, a fellow student who knew Mr Khan well and pleaded guilty to shooting him. He is charged with murder.
Bilal Baksh, a university employee and student leader who had connections to one of the major political parties in the province. He is accused of inciting students to hunt down and attack Mr Khan.
Wajahat Ullah, a fellow student and member of the student wing of hardline Islamist group Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). He is accused of inciting students by making an inflammatory speech accusing Mr Khan of blasphemy.
What was the reaction in Pakistan?
There was a huge outpouring of solidarity and grief. Protests were held demanding justice for Mr Khan and there has been ongoing debate about excessive use of blasphemy allegations to settle personal grievances.
However such is the sensitivity of blasphemy that some politicians – including the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif – held off commenting on the killing until Mr Khan’s name had been cleared.
Image captionMashal Khan’s father said the government should act so a similar tragedy could not occur again
Many people in Mr Khan’s home village stayed away from his funeral, fearing being attacked by hardliners.
Dozens of people accused of blasphemy have been murdered in recent years in Pakistan.
Among them was politician Salman Taseer who was shot dead by his own bodyguard in 2011 for speaking out against misuse of the laws.
Although people have received the death penalty for blasphemy, the state has not yet executed anyone for the crime.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionIndia has seen a 50% decline in the number of new HIV infections over the last decade
Indian officials are investigating claims that a fake doctor in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh has infected at least 33 people with HIV with a used syringe.
The unqualified practitioner allegedly used one syringe, which he recycled to treat colds and the flu.
Federal health officials will visit Unnao district, where the incident occurred, to investigate the matter.
The suspect reportedly charged 10 rupees (11p; 15 cents) for each jab.
It is not clear how many of the confirmed cases were contracted from the alleged used syringe.
“Medical research shows that the spread of HIV through infected needles could be just 0.3% as the virus cannot survive in open air,” Dr Tanymay Kakkad, a member of the investigating team, told The Indian Express newspaper.
The 33 people confirmed with HIV were among 566 people who were tested at a screening camp organised by the government, health officials told Reuters.
“We ask HIV patients various things to know the source of infection,” SP Choudhary, a senior medical officer said.
“When we asked these patients whether they had used common syringes, some of them told us about a doctor they went to who uses the same syringe on all his patients.”
Local police are also probing the matter, and are on the lookout for the suspect who is believed to be in hiding.
The state’s health minister, Sidharth Nath Singh, said that many truck drivers in the area are also carriers of the disease, implying that this could be another reason.
“As far as the case of anyone giving injections without a licence is concerned, strict action will be taken against them,” he added.
India has seen a 50% decline in the number of new HIV infections over the last decade, according to a UN report, which also said that the most persistent source is mother-to-child transmission.
Unqualified medical practitioners in India are routinely arrested for posing as doctors – a shortage of official doctors leads many to seek out these so-called “quacks”. Around 45% of medical practitioners in India are not formally trained, according to the Indian Medical Association.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionThe car collided with a truck on a highway in Rajasthan state.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s estranged wife, Jashodaben, survived a fatal crash on Wednesday on a national highway, police confirmed to the OP’S NEWS
One of her relatives died when their vehicle collided with a truck in the western state of Rajasthan.
Ms Jashodaben, her bodyguard and the driver suffered minor injuries. Seven people were travelling in the SUV.
Police told the OP’S NEWS that they have launched an inquiry to find out what caused the accident.
Ms Jashodaben, who does not live with Mr Modi, married him in 1967 when he was 17 years old.
Image captionPolice say they have launched an inquiry into what caused the accident
She has said in interviews that he had left her after three years, during which they spent some three months together and that they had parted amicably.
Mr Modi publicly admitted his marriage for the first time in 2014 when he filed his nomination papers as the prime ministerial candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party which went on to win the election.
Critics have accused him of deserting his wife after he joined the Hindu nationalist organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which prizes celibacy.
They say the fact that he refused to acknowledge her for so long is a telltale sign of his attitude towards women.
The occasion, marking 100 years since America entered World War One, saw troops march down the Champs-Élysées, accompanied by dozens of military vehicles, flyovers of military aircraft, and traditional mounted cavalry.
Commentators say a US parade would be extremely expensive, given the cost of bringing military hardware and personnel to the capital and protecting its streets from tanks designed for war zones.
Does everyone like the idea?
Democratic politicians have criticised the expense and said such ideas carry worrying symbolism.
Representative Jackie Speier, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told CNN: “I was stunned by it, to be quite honest… we have a Napoleon in the making here.”
Several retired military personnel have also condemned the plan, saying the money would be better served improving conditions for veterans or raising military wages.
Speaking to CNN, Lt Gen Mark Hertling said: “I don’t know a whole lot of soldiers who like them [parades].”
“The military will do whatever the commander in chief asks them to do – but it’s not a good idea for our military.”
Large-scale military parades are seen by many as a relic of a bygone era and the Cold War, but they remain a common occurrence in many states – Communist and former Soviet nations and beyond.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionThe last time the US put on a grand military spectacle was back in 1991, when troops were celebrating victory in the first Gulf War
But they are regular in other countries – Venezuela, Iran and Brazil all enjoy putting on a spectacle.
In France, the annual Bastille Day parade, which was beefed up after the November 2015 terror attacks, harks back to France’s militaristic past. An extravagant show in Saudi Arabia last year also reflected security concerns ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
Like North Korea, Thai forces parade on armed forces day and countries such as Australia and Sri Lanka use military parades as part of national day celebrations.
The US, however, has largely reserved such ceremonies for the end of major conflicts.
The last such in Washington DC was on 9 June 1991, when President George Bush Snr celebrated the end of the Gulf War. It is thought to have cost taxpayers some $10m (£7.2m) and was followed by another parade the next day in New York,
Image copyrightKCNAImage captionKim Yo-jong in a 2015 picture of her brother touring a military unit
The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is to attend Friday’s opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games, which are being held in the South, ministers in Seoul say.
Kim Yo-jong is the youngest daughter of late leader Kim Jong-il and her role was strengthened last year when she was promoted to the politburo.
Both Koreas will march under one flag at the opening ceremony.
The North’s participation has been seen as a thawing of bilateral ties.
However, experts say it is unlikely to have any impact on the North’s nuclear ambitions.
The US believes the North is using the Olympics for propaganda purposes and is sending Vice-President Mike Pence to the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang to counter it.
“We’re travelling to the Olympics to make sure that North Korea doesn’t use the powerful symbolism in the backdrop of the Winter Olympics to paper over the truth about their regime,” he said.
This is a huge surprise. There had been speculation Kim Yo-jong might be part of the delegation but few thought it would actually happen. She will be the first immediate Kim family member to cross the border. It is being seen here as a sign that Kim Jong-un is serious about improving ties with South Korea.
Kim Yo-jong is one of Kim Jong-un’s closest aides and some are speculating that she might be bringing a message from her brother.
But there could be a number of obstacles to overcome if she is to make it to Pyeongchang. She is targeted by US sanctions for alleged human rights abuses, although she is not on the UN Security Council travel blacklist.
There is also the question of how she will get to the Games. Seoul has had to request special permission from the US and others in the international community to allow North Korean athletes and performers to travel south by bus and ferry. They may have to do so again and this time it will be for a member of Kim Jong-un’s own family.
Most of the 280-member North Korean delegation, including a team of cheerleaders, arrived in the South on Wednesday.
The delegation, led by North Korean Sports Minister Kim Il-guk, includes 229 cheerleaders, four officials from the National Olympic Committee, 26 taekwondo demonstrators and 21 journalists.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionThe North Korean cheerleaders arrive at their accommodation near Pyeongchang
The team arrived via a western border at 09:28 local time (00:26 GMT), the Yonhap news agency reported.
Only 10 athletes will compete for the North at the Games, along with another 12 as part of a unified Korean women’s ice hockey team.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionKim Yo-jong (circled) has often appeared alongside her brother
Believed born in 1987, Kim Yo-jong is said to be very close to Kim Jong-un, who is about four years older than her. The two of them lived and studied in Berne, Switzerland, at the same time.
She is reportedly married to the son of Choe Ryong-hae, the powerful party secretary, and is a senior official in the ruling Workers’ Party.
She has been in the spotlight sporadically in recent years, with her main job being to protect her brother’s image via her role in the party’s propaganda department.
She remains blacklisted by the US over alleged links to human rights abuses in North Korea.
Image captionIn Norway, a deposit-return machine accepts two types of plastic bottle
A Scandinavian system for recycling bottles is thought likely to be adopted in the UK.
Advisers to government say the schemes have massively reduced plastic litter in the environment and seas.
And a ministerial delegation has been to Norway to see if the UK should copy an industry-led scheme that recycles 98% of bottles.
In the UK, figures show that only around half of all plastic bottles get recycled.
Norway claims to offer the most cost-efficient way of tackling plastic litter.
The Norwegian government decided the best method would be to put a tax on every bottle that’s not recycled – then leave the operating details of the scheme up to business.
It works like this: the consumer pays a deposit on every bottle, from 10p to 25p depending on size.
They return it empty and post it into a machine which reads the barcode and produces a coupon for the deposit.
If the careless consumer has left liquid in the bottle, the machine eats it anyway – but hands the deposit to the shopkeeper who’ll need to empty the bottle.
Similar schemes are in operation in other Nordic nations, Germany, and some states in the US and Canada.
The managers of the Norway operation say it could easily be applied to the UK.
‘Simplified process’
In Norway, the deposit-return machine accepts only two types of plastic bottle, with approved labels and even approved glue to fix the labels.
This allows the labels to be stripped easily, and simplifies recycling.
In the UK, roadside collection of plastic bottles in Britain are bedevilled by contamination from rogue rubbish being put in the recycling container.
Kjell Olav Maldum, chief executive of Infinitum which runs the Norway bottle scheme, told BBC News: “There are other recycling schemes, but we believe ours is the most cost-efficient.
“We think it could be copied in the UK – or anywhere.
“Our principle is that if drinks firms can get bottles to shops to sell their products, they can also collect those same bottles.”
Image copyrightSPLImage captionSome would like to see a Norwegian-style scheme adopted in the UK
Scotland has already committed to a deposit return scheme, without details so far.
But politicians in Westminster have been more cautious amid lobbying by drinks manufacturers and fears from small shops about the administrative burden.
In Norway, small shopkeepers are said to generally favour the deposit return system. They get paid a small fee for each bottle, and are also said to benefit from increased footfall from people returning bottles.
Sajana Pariyar, who works at the Joker minimarket in central Oslo told me: “It’s a good thing. People return the bottle and with the money they get from it they buy things from us.
“It increases the number of people in our shops. It’s good for business.”
When we visited her store, a homeless man patiently fed a sack-full of bottles and cans into the mouth of the machine. He’d collected the containers from a nearby office, and raised £5 in the process.
School run
But even in recycling-conscious Norway, some people still transgress. The worst offenders are youngsters quaffing energy drinks on the run to school.
So some schools have now installed bottle collecting racks at the school gates to avoid plastic bottles going into general rubbish bins.
The most virtuous consumers are older beer drinkers who can stash their cans at home before returning them later.
Just 2% of Norway’s plastic bottles elude the deposit return scheme, but even so the absolute numbers are high.
Terje Skovly works at a municipal recycling scheme, ROAF, which collects the bins from 70,000 homes on the outskirts of Oslo.
At his plant – a 3-D maze of conveyors and ramps – a steady stream of plastic bottles is isolated from other waste by infrared recognition.
These bottles have been mixed with other waste during collection so they can’t be used again for food grade packaging. They get down-graded into plastic furniture instead.
Spare change
“I get angry when I see that,” he told me as he glared at the bottle conveyor below us. “Why are people so lazy that they can’t be bothered to recycle a bottle? We should increase the deposit to 50p on a large bottle.”
What was the value in lost deposits? I asked.
He made a rough calculation… just under a million dollars. A year.
With that amount of cash swilling around the scheme in spare change, it’s little wonder that representatives of other nations are considering the advantages of going Norwegian.
But even Norway’s ultra-efficient recycling system can’t compete with virgin plastic on cost.
The problem, the recyclers say, is that the ingredients of plastic – oil and gas – are simply too cheap.
The cost of each bottle is subsidised by a few pence by the manufacturer. This ultimately gets passed to the consumer.
The operators of the scheme argue that it’s more appropriate for people buying drinks to pay for them to be recycled, rather than have taxpayers foot the bill for cleaning up litter on beaches.
The UK government’s working party studying plastic waste will mention Norway as an example of a system working well.
Members are also intrigued by the example of Lithuania, which is said to have achieved a 93% return rate in just three years.
Samantha Harding, from the countryside group CPRE, has been campaigning against plastic litter for more than a decade.
She told OP’S News: “It frustrates me when people say ‘oh, they only recycle because they’re Scandinavian… in the UK we’re different.’
“Well, they’re doing it in Germany too – and states in the US and Canada. Are they all the same, so are we different from all of them?
“The key is to get an economic incentive – put a deposit on the bottle and most people won’t throw money away.”
She applauded the Norwegian system of putting racks round bins in public places for discarded plastic bottles.
“People say they don’t want to see homeless people rummaging through bins to get the deposit back on bottles… why don’t we make it easy for them?”
Ms Harding said one great advantage of deposit return schemes is that it obliges each part of the plastic chain to change their behaviour – from product concept to design; to manufacture; transport; use; and finally disposal.
“This is great because we’ve seen big firms campaigning against good schemes because it forced them to take more responsibility. We’re in a crisis now – there’s no room for that sort of thing,” she said.
Speaking on stage after the result was announced at Coleg Cambria in Connah’s Quay, Jack Sargeant said: “We still are devastated by dad’s death.
“This is a by-election we shouldn’t be fighting. There are questions still to be answered. But tonight is not the night for those questions to be answered.
“Despite the tragic circumstances, this is now an opportunity to start a movement to change politics. Let’s go back to traditional Labour values and look after those who can’t look after themselves.
He said he wanted “a kind message in life in general, not just in politics.
“Let’s be kind to each other – a message I learned from my dad.”
Image captionCarl Sargeant’s body was found four days after he was dismissed as communities minister
Speaking before the result was declared, Clwyd West Conservative AM Darren Millar said it would be “an endorsement of Jack and Carl Sargeant’s family”.
“I don’t think in any way the Labour party or Carwyn Jones can claim credit for what I think will be a clear win for Jack Sargeant,” he said.
Carl Sargeant was Alyn and Deeside AM from 2003 until his death.
Sacked as cabinet secretary for communities and children amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women, he was found dead four days later having apparently taken his own life.
First Minister Carwyn Jones faces two ongoing investigations – one into his handling of the sacking of Carl Sargeant while the other is considering whether he misled the assembly in statements about what he knew about allegations of bullying within the Welsh Government in 2014.
Full result
Jack Sargeant, Labour – 11,267 (60.7% – up 14.9)
Sarah Atherton, Conservative – 4,722 (25.4% – up 4.4)
Donna Lalek, Liberal Democrat – 1,176 (6.3% – up 1.8)
Carrie Harper, Plaid Cymru – 1,059 (5.7% – down 3.3)
Duncan Rees, Green Party – 353 (1.9% – down 0.5)
Analysis from OP’S NEWS
No surprises that Jack Sargeant won this by-election. In the end, he increased Labour’s majority.
So he’s off to Cardiff Bay, following in his late father’s footsteps.
When he gets there, what sort of relationship will he have with First Minister Carwyn Jones, who dismissed his father?
People around Jack Sargeant answer that by saying he’s a team player.
There are outstanding questions however, as Jack Sargeant acknowledged in his acceptance speech, about the way Carl Sargeant was sacked.
An independent inquiry will look into all of that – and the Sargeant family has a role in helping to draw up the inquiry’s terms of reference.
A man has died after a fire at a flat in west London.
About 80 firefighters were called to the blaze at a first-floor property in Holland Park Gardens, Holland Park , at 21:44 GMT, London Fire Brigade said.
London Ambulance Service said the man died at the scene despite extensive resuscitation efforts.
Twelve fire engines attended and eight neighbouring properties were evacuated as a precaution and the fire was brought under control at 02:01 GMT .
Photos on social media showed flames and smoke coming from the four-storey house converted into flats.
George Nicolas, who lives opposite, said on Twitter that the fire appeared to have spread to the second floor of the building before being contained.
A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said it sent an ambulance crew, hazardous area response team, incident response officer and the air ambulance trauma team in a car after being called out at 21:59 GMT.
London Fire Brigade sent crews from Hammersmith, Kensington, North Kensington and other stations attended the scene, which is about one mile (1.6km) away from Grenfell Tower, where 71 people lost their lives after the fire last June.
It said the cause of the fire is under investigation.
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